The Chronicles of Rose
by Dreamer-Girl96
Summary: Rose Brooks was your average seventeen year old girl who was unsatisfied with the lack of adventure in her life. Until a fateful trip to the beach and one huge wave somehow magically sent her off to the middle of the ocean with nothing but a mysterious ship in sight. Now Rose is in for the thrill of her life. Edmund/OC. Takes place during Voyage of the Dawn Treader. R&R!
1. The Beginning

As a naturally curious person, I have a lot of questions in life. For example, why do good people die and evil people live? Or, why can't I eat forever without worrying about gaining weight?

But the biggest question I have is how in the hell did I end up in a magical land?

My name is Rose. I was a normal seventeen year old girl living with her mother. Well not "normal" exactly but close enough. My parents were divorced and I couldn't stand my father. He was an addict for everything you could possibly think of. Drugs, alcohol, pot, you name it. It was 2013 and I was all ready for my senior year. Was I excited? No. I had no idea what to do when I graduated. Not to sound like every other female teenager, but I wasn't good at anything. Well, except reading.

That was really all I liked to do. It was the end of the summer and my mother and I were at the beach, yet I was holed up inside our hotel room reading. I lived inside the books I read. They consumed me for hours at a time. As much as I loved them, they made me sad. More than anything I wanted to be one of those characters in the books. All I wanted was to have some kind of epic adventure with passion, sword fighting, and, well, FUN. I felt out of place here in this boring society. Nothing about being here felt right.

To sound dramatic, since I was a child I had felt completely empty inside. Sure I had my sarcasm keep my company, a fantastic mother, and a roof over my head. But it never was enough. The things my father put my family through didn't help much either. The doctors declared me to have depression, which in a way was true. Everything I wanted out of life was absolutely impossible.

Or so I thought.

"Rose, honey?" my mom came into the room we were sharing at the hotel. "I had an idea."

"One second," I said, lounging on the bed that was mine. I was nearly finished "The Princess Bride."

Mom came over and sat down on the bed next to me, pulling the book out of my hands. I opened my mouth in protest but she cut me off.

"Why don't we actually go down to the beach like we came to do?"  
I blinked. "But that's like . . . outside and stuff." My skin was white as snow. The sun would destroy it immediately.

Apparently, she didn't care about burns because a half an hour later I was in my bathing suit at the beach. I wore a purple bikini that my friend insisted I buy for it made me appear to actually have a nice body.

I had to admit, once I was in the water I felt great. It was calm with small waves. My mom was lying on her beach blanket, attempting to get a tan. I swam for a while, feeling at peace. A few strands of my long auburn hair went in one of my dark brown eyes, getting some major bit of salt into it. I rubbed it fiercely, trying to get rid of the burning.

"Come on," I muttered. Finally, the burning sensation went away. Right in time to look up and see the biggest wave I'd ever seen hurtling towards me.

I barely had time to scream, "Oh, fuck!" before it swallowed me whole.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I wasn't expecting any until I posted at least a few chapters. o.o You're amazing! On to chapter two! **

I felt myself being thrown around like a rag doll stuck in a washing machine. I kept getting whipped onto the bottom, nearly knocking me out. The lack of control I had terrified me, but I knew not to fight it or could kill me. Finally the wave died down. I struggled to swim to the top but I wasn't getting there. My feet wouldn't touch the ground. How far did the wave push me out? Finally, I felt my head break the surface and I took in a huge gasp of breath.

"Air!" I yelled triumphantly. I turned myself around to wave to my mother and assure her I was alright. But there was nothing but sea in front of me. Frowning, I turned myself again only to be greeted with more sea.

Over and I over I whipped my head around looking for land but there was nothing.

What the hell kind of wave took me into the middle of the ocean? I looked down and realized I could see my toes. This water was clear as can be; not grey and slightly dirty like before. I wasn't even in the same ocean anymore.

I felt my panic level begin to rise.

I was stranded in the middle of nowhere and there was no possible way for me to have gotten there. I kept looking around me desperately. Nope, I was alone.

I began shrieking like there was no tomorrow-which was entirely possible considering I was kicking my feet just to keep from sinking under water.

Wait, there was something in the distance! I squinted. It was a ship . . . it looked like a pirate ship, maybe?

What the hell?!

It was coming towards me way faster than I would have thought possible. I could make out the front of it now, it looked like a giant serpent's head.

Reassuring, right? As far as I could see I had two options here. Hide under the water until it passes and most likely die, letting my carcass get eaten by the sharks that were most likely lurking deep down below me, or I could get the people on the ships attention and most likely die anyway.

Well, I hate sharks so I'd go with the latter.

I waited till it got closer before waving my arms wildly and splashing. I yelled "help" a few times.

Thankfully, I wasn't in its direct path. Unfortunately, it still nearly sucked me in at the speed it was going.

Now the boat was right in front of me. It was one huge serpent ship that was bronze and bright.

I could make out some people on the boat running around. Something that looked like a giant black teddy bear was leaning over the railing. I blinked rapidly. Maybe I did hit my head harder than I thought. Maybe this was all some sort of hallucination induced by a coma.

That's when a man jumped in and began swimming towards me with long, graceful strokes.

I won't lie-he was hot. He had longish dark hair and a unshaven face. He seemed to be in his early twenties, maybe?

He made his way to me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You're a little lost," he commented, grinning. I wrapped my arm around his neck and together we began swimming towards the boat.

"I was looking for a change of scenery," I answered. He chuckled.

We reached the boat and grabbed a rope that was hanging down. I hadn't even noticed it.

Then WHOOSH. Before I could so much as inhale we were yanked out of the water and flying through the air. I let go of him stupidly, so while he landed proudly on his feet, I was sprawled on the ground, face down.

I heard some laughter mixed with murmuring.

"Did you forget someone in the water, your Highnesses?"

"I've never seen her before, have you Edmund?" That voice was feminine.  
"Never."

"Is it a rescue for me?" I heard running on the deck and I felt someone kick my shoulder. "Girl, have you brought the British counsel?"

I gritted my teeth. The voice annoyed me to no end already and the fact that he thought a teenage girl in a bikini that needed rescuing was here to rescue HIM. I reached for his ankle and pulled, yanking him down, hard.

He let out the most girly shriek I've ever heard before he fell back, slamming onto the deck.

There was applause coming from every direction and masculine laughter.

I got to my feet and glared down at him. He was short with blonde hair and a pig-like face. He stared at me in shock.

"If you ever touch me again I'll beat you senseless, got it?" More laughter from my audience.

He continued to stare in shock. "Good Lord, where are your clothes?"

I glanced down at my bikini, but ignored him. Obviously he was a special kind of stupid. I looked around me and saw something that made me gasp.

There weren't just men (and a young girl) there. The giant black teddy bear was real. There was also a giant . . . mouse?

The mouse met my eye and said, "Bravo to you for being the only one here to put him in his place."

I felt my eyes widen as I whipped my head around. "Am I dead?" I asked meekly.

The young girl came forward. She had red hair and a bright smile on her face. "No this is all real. I've never met another human from me and my brother's world in Narnia before!"

I stared at her for a moment, before looking around. Everyone was dressed in pirate like fashion.

"I'm sorry?" I finally settled on answering.

"Well obviously you're American," she continued. "You're from the year 1945, right?"  
"2013," I replied in a whisper.

The girl's eyes widened. She seemed to be fifteen or so. There was a boy next to her who seemed to be my age. He had black hair and dark brown eyes that watched me thoughtfully. There was a grin on his face. Obviously me attacking the kid gained everyone's favor.

The smile faltered slightly. "Oh goodness you're really from a different time!"

I backed up slightly. "Where am I? How is the giant mouse talking?"  
The mouse skittered forward towards me, making me jump. "I hope you realize I do have a name and prefer that over 'giant mouse'."

I gulped. The mouse had a sword. "Sorry."

The girl spoke again. "It's alright Reepicheep, she doesn't understand."

"Will someone please explain what's going on?" I finally yelled. Everyone stared at me.

The pig-faced boy got to his feet. "See, I'm not the only one who thinks you're all nuts!"  
Before I could protest that I didn't think that, the boy with black hair spoke up. "Yeah, only we'd all willingly throw you overboard in exchange for her."

I couldn't help but laugh with everyone else. He glared before stomping off, muttering something about a diary.

The man who rescued me spoke up. "Alright men, get back to work. Edmund, Lucy, I trust you'll take care of her?"  
The girl Lucy came forward. "Of course! Come one, let's get you some clothes. We'll explain everything."

Edmund nodded. "First you might want to get her a towel."

I blushed. If they were from the 40's, as Lucy claimed, then to them I was practically naked.

Lucy's eyes got big. "Oh, of course! Caspian?"  
The guy who rescued me, I guess Caspian, got a towel from one of the men nearby and handed it to me. I immediately wrapped myself in it.

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

Lucy took my hand and eagerly began pulling me to the other side of the boat.

"What's your name?" she asked me. Edmund was right beside us.

"Rose," I answered, stepping around people and over miscellaneous objects on the ground.

Lucy stopped in front of a large pair of double doors and beamed at me.

"Rose, welcome to Narnia!"

What had I gotten myself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I love when I don't have school. I get to write all day.**

**Chapter 3.**

I never realized how much I loved clothes from the Renaissance/pirate era until I was wearing them. I had on a white blouse with a tight black vest and black pants and black boots. It was so comfortable-yet freaking AWESOME looking.

It took Edmund and Lucy a good hour to explain exactly where I was. Narnia, apparently. They got here through a magical wardrobe years ago with their older brother, Peter, and their older sister, Susan. They fought the White Witch who was an evil woman trying to take over. I could tell Edmund was hiding something by the way he cut Lucy off and took over telling the story. But I wasn't quite sure what. I wouldn't pry though, if he wanted me to know he'd have told me. Anyway, they fought the witch bitch and won, alongside Aslan their leader who happens to be a lion that can TALK.

They went through some names of the people on board as well as some of the creatures I could expect to talk. I was glad to be talking to someone who understood the shock of being thrust unexpectedly into a magical world.

Then they explained about how they met Prince Caspian and their adventures with him. I listened intensely, wanting to know everything I could. It was all hard to swallow, but it's not like I could think them liars. I was here too, I saw a Minotaur with my own eyes. I just couldn't believe that this all was happening to little old me.

"So, you're a king, and you're a queen?" I said when they finished their story. We were all sitting on the floor in what I called a sharing time circle.

"Yes," they answered in unison.

I nodded thoughtfully. "So who's the little piggy that's crying wee wee for his home?"

Edmund snorted with laughter as Lucy smacked his arm. "It's not funny." Though she was hiding a smile as well as a giggle.

Edmund rolled his eyes. "That's our stupid cousin, Eustace."

I grinned. "The name fits him."  
"That's what I've been saying!"

"Alright, we didn't come in here to talk badly about our cousin, Edmund," Lucy said chidingly as she got to her feet. "We should got back out."

"But this is more fun," Edmund said lazily. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. "Plus we don't know anything about Rose."  
That stopped Lucy. "You're right!"

I shrugged and stood. "Nothing to really tell. I'm seventeen, I live with my mom, and I don't really have a life."

"I'm sure you do," Lucy said. "You're beautiful."

There was almost something wistful in the way she said it.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Huh, really? The only one who has ever said that is my mom." I paused thoughtfully for a moment before smiling. "Well thanks. But out of the two of us, I'm sure you're the heartbreaker you little British crumpet."

Lucy blushed. "I better go. Excuse me." She turned and left the room.

Edmund got to his feet. "She's been acting so weird lately."  
"She's a teenage girl. What do you expect?"

He shrugged before walking out after her. "Are you coming?"  
"In a little bit. I'd like to compose myself before I end up screaming at the sight of the Minotaur."

He chuckled. "Alright." He left the room, leaving me time to have a freak attack.

This was it. I finally was going to have the adventure I wanted. Maybe I could learn how to fight with a sword, I'd always wanted to do that. I just couldn't believe this was happening to me. I squealed excitedly and jumped up and down like a little girl. I probably did that for a couple minutes as well as danced around. When I finished geeking out, I started to leave but hesitated when I saw the mirror.

In it, I saw my thick hair as a complete mess. How on Earth could Lucy say I looked beautiful? Despite my awesome outfit, I was a mess. I rummaged around before finding a hair brush in a drawer. I spent a good five minutes fixing my hair.

That was when I realized there was a commotion outside. I ran to the door to go investigate.

Big mistake. As soon as I opened it, I nearly got hit with a sword.

"Watch it!" I shrieked at Caspian who was engaged in some kind of duel with Edmund. Everyone was gathered round watching the fight.

They were both grinning and didn't seem to notice I had almost been incapacitated. The moment I had a chance, I ran over and joined the crowd in the safety zone. The fight was amazing. They were both incredibly skilled. It ended on a complete tie.

The crowd let out a cheer, as well as I did.

"You've grown stronger, my friend," I heard Caspian tell Edmund.

"Seems I have," he agreed.

The bald guy who Lucy had told me earlier was the Captain rang a bell. "All right! Back to work!"

I guess we all know who the party killer was in this group.

Edmund began walking away as everyone started to go back to work. Someone handed him a cup.

"Your highness," the man said graciously.

"Oh thank you," he said accepting the cup and taking a big gulp from it. I followed him over to where he now stood with Lucy, who was sitting on the railing.

"Edmund," I heard her say, "do you think if we keep sailing to the end of the world we'll just . . . tip off the edge?"  
"Don't worry, Lu," he assured her. "We're a long way from there."

"Well that's a relief," I said coming up and sitting on the railing next to her. "I'd hate to die before I got the chance to ruin anyone's day. Eustace seemed like a good place to start."

Lucy and Edmund laughed.

Just then, Eustace came out from below. "I see the two of you are still talking nonsense. Now you've roped another one into your delusions."

I shot Edmund a look that asked his permission to beat the living hell out of him. He grinned but shook his head slightly.

"Are you feeling better?" Lucy asked kindly.

"Yes no thanks to you," he said nastily. "It's lucky I have an iron constitution."

Whatever the hell that was.

A voice came from right behind me. "As effervescent as ever, I see."

I looked to see Reepicheep, the mouse. "Either of you find your sea legs?"  
I smiled. "Sure did, thanks."

"Never lost them," Eustace answered stubbornly. "Simply dealing with the shock of things."

I raised my eyebrows. "So am I, but you don't see me being a little bitch about it."  
Lucy's jaw dropped in shock, as did Edmund's. But his was more of appreciation and laughter followed.

Eustace narrowed his eyes at me. "Mother says I have an acute disposition, due to my intelligence."

Edmund had chosen that moment to take a drink. He nearly choked. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laughing.

"I don't think he has 'a cute' anything," Reepicheep remarked. This time I didn't even bother to hide it. I cracked up and said to Reepicheep appreciatively, "Nice one."

Eustace got fired up and began stomping off. "I'll have you know as soon as we find civilization I'm calling the British Consul and having you all arrested for kidnapping!" he was so focused on his tirade he ran into Caspian who looked dangerously entertained.

"Kidnapping, is it?" he said. "That's funny. I thought we saved your life."

"Oh yeah, thanks for saving my life, your Highness!" I called.

Caspian held out a hand towards me as if to say, "See?"

"You held me against my will!" Eustace argued. "Not my fault she'd rather live in this make believe world!"

"And I'm loving every damn minute of it," I agreed.

"Ha!" Reepicheep chuckled.  
"Did I?" Caspian said, looking more and more amused.

"In, what I must say, are the most unhygienic quarters. It's like a zoo down there!"

"He's quite the complainer, isn't he?" Reepicheep commented.

"He's just warming up," Edmund replied.  
"I'll make him shut up," I offered, jumping to my feet.

Before I got a reply, I heard a voice yell "Land ho!"

Caspian ran off to go look, as did others.

"You got lucky this time," I warned Eustace. "Sleep with one eye open, kid."

He scoffed. "I'm not afraid of you. You're just a stupid girl who is as mentally insane as the rest of them."

I probably would have tackled him if Lucy hadn't grabbed me.

"Don't!" she begged. Reep tried to hold my leg as I kept trying to go after him. Eustace began backing up, looking at me fearfully.

"That's right, keep walking!" I yelled.

"Edmund, help!" Lucy called desperately to her brother.

"Why?" he asked, sounding as though he thoroughly was enjoying this.

"Edmund!"

"All right, all right."

I felt a pair of arms go around my waist and lift me clear off the ground and carry me away.

From behind me, I could hear Reepicheep say, "You know, I really think I'm going to enjoy having that girl with us."

"Come on!" I complained to Edmund, trying to pry his hands off of me. "Just one punch would have taught him a lesson."

"As much as we all would have appreciated that, I can't let you." I sighed and quite fighting, kinda liking the feeling of his arms around me. Before I could get used to it, he let me go.

I turned and stared at him in amazement. "How do you keep your temper?"

"Lots and lots of practice." He paused. "And licking the candy he hides for himself when he's not around."  
I burst out laughing and put out a fist. "Nice!"

He looked at me in confusion.

I kept my fist out. "Don't leave me hanging here!"

"What?"

"Oh right, you're way before my time. Here make a fist."

He did so. I bumped my fist to his. "That, my dear Edmund, is a handshake in my generation."

"Odd," he replied. "Yet satisfying."  
"Right?!" I said, grinning.

We stood there for a moment, before I spoke up again. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." He motioned for me to follow him to the front of the boat. I followed him there. For a moment, we stared out to the sea where land could be seen. The wind in my hair felt amazing, as did the light gentle spray of the ocean.

"Do you know why I got sent here?" I asked him finally.

He sighed. "No, I'm afraid not. I don't even know why my sister and I are here."

"I'm not complaining," I said hurriedly.

He smiled. "Good, me either."

I smiled back at him. His eyes were searching mine, as if trying to read what I was thinking.

I tore my eyes away. "When do you think we'll get to land?" I wondered.

"Probably before dark," he responded.  
"Wow," I said softly. "This is all happening so fast. One minute I'm at the beach, the next I'm on a ship with magical talking creatures."

Edmund chuckled. "At least you didn't stumble upon Narnia in a wardrobe."  
"That's true," I said with a laugh.

Edmund held out a hand to me.

"Ready to explore a piece of Narnia?"  
I took his hand and smiled mischievously. "The question is; are they ready for me?"  
"We can only hope."

**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I am MAJORLY excited to write the next one. It'll most likely come out later today. The chapters will be coming out pretty quickly, for I have nothing to do all day. Please review, favorite, etc. If there's any requests or suggestions you have, let me know! I love feedback. Except for flames. Then I turn into Bitchzilla, who isn't as fun.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was the evening when we approached the Lone Islands, as King Caspian told me the land was called. He, Drinian, and Edmund were suspicious of the lack of Narnian flags and deemed it important to send searchers.

So not much later all of us were in two longboats rowing towards the island. Yes, even Eustace. I didn't see how that could possibly be a good idea but I was just grateful to be going myself. So I kept my mouth shut.

It looked like a kingdom made entirely of a tan colored stone, like an Arabian city. I stared at it in complete amazement.

"Nervous?" Edmund asked me, looking amused. I was sitting next to him.

I frowned. "No, why do you ask?"

"Because you've been playing with my fingers."

I glanced down at my lap and realized he was right. At some point I had took his hand and started playing with it as I might my own when my anxiety was high.

I immediately let go. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little bit anxious."

"It's going to be alright," he assured me.

"Of course," I said, forcing a smile. The butterflies in my stomach weren't going away. Whether they were from the nerves of exploring a land that might be in danger, or the smile on Edmund's face, I wasn't quite sure.

"Onward!" Reep declared as we reached the port. "The thrill of the unknown lies ahead."

We all began getting out of the boat.

"Couldn't this have waited till morning?" Eustace complained.

I stood next to Reep on the stone steps, staring at the whiny brat in disbelief.

"There is no honor in turning away from adventure, lad."

"Listen," Lucy said, quieting us down. "Where is everyone?"

We all began walking, except for Reep who was trying to coax Eustace out. He got out of the boat alright, before falling.

Reep let out an exasperated sigh as I snickered.

"Are you certain he's related by blood?" Caspian asked Lucy and Edmund, quite seriously.

"I vote we get a DNA test," I agreed.

We walked up stairs and Caspian pulled out his crossbow. I followed Edmund and Reep, for so far they were the most fun.

Suddenly a loud bell tolled, making me jump a mile. Lucy gasped in shock. Everyone pulled out weapons, looking around them. After a moment, Caspian lowered his crossbow and ordered Reepicheep to stay with the men and secure the place while the rest of us, meaning Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and I, went with Caspian.

I wasn't reassured when Caspian said, "If we don't come back by dawn, send a party."

Eustace, surprisingly didn't say anything. He just followed us into the city.

It seemed to be completely deserted. I walked with Lucy as we approached a large entrance door to the bell tower.

"Do you know how to use a sword?" Caspian asked me.

"Kind of," I replied. "I've read a lot about it, just never put it into action."

He and Edmund exchanged a long look before he finally shrugged and said, "Good enough."

Caspian handed me one and showed me how to hold it properly. Oh, hell yes. This was going to be awesome.

Eustace called over to us from some house he'd been looking into. "Yeah, looks like nobodies in so do you think we should head back?"

"Do you want to come here and guard . . . something?" Edmund said, obviously just wanting to leave him behind.

Eustace nodded eagerly. "Ah, yes!" he ran to us. "Good idea, cousin."

Edmund made a face at him before turning away.

"Very, um . . . logical."

We all stopped and turned to stare at him. This kid was going to get killed if he opened his mouth to anyone.

Obviously, Caspian was thinking the same thing because he gave him a dagger.

"I've got it, I've got it," Eustace assured us. "Don't worry."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I muttered to Edmund.

"Better than bringing him with us," he responded.

I couldn't argue with that.

We entered the bell tower together. It was extremely dark, with only a big of light coming in from small windows. Bells hung from the very high ceiling and there were large statues of angels.

We walked cautiously, ignoring when Eustace called, "I'm ready to go when you are!"

Feeling more scared than I cared to admit, I stayed close as possible to Edmund.

He had a flashlight so he was leading us. We came upon a large book on a podium with lists of names that were crossed off and numbers next to them.

"Who are all these people?" Lucy asked.

"And why have they been crossed out?" Edmund wondered.

"It looks like some kind of fee," Lucy said, making me realize that I knew exactly what this was for.

"Slave traders," Caspian said, confirming what I'd been thinking.

A bell started ringing loudly, along with a man yelling. We all looked up and to my horror men began sliding down ropes, ready to attack. They all looked like thieves from Aladdin or something with their dark skin and turbans.

"Look out!" Caspian called, shooting a man with a crossbow.

We all began fighting and let me tell you, reading hadn't helped much with my sword fighting. I was able to keep this man at bay but for the life of me I couldn't hurt him. Lucy came over and we began tag teaming the men. We were actually doing great until a familiar girlish shriek caused us all to stop and turned.

Eustace had been caught.

Lucy shot him the filthiest look I'd ever seen on her face. I take it that she won't ever try to keep me from beating him up again.

The man began talking and moving forward as he held a knife to Eustace's throat.

"Unless you want to hear this one squeal like a girl again, I'd say drop your weapons."

"Like a girl?!" Eustace screeched, nearly crying.

"Now!" the man yelled.

Baring her teeth, Lucy was the first to throw her sword down. Caspian followed, though he did it slowly, and then I did as Lucy did, throwing it down in anger.

Edmund did as he said in disgust, "Eustace!"

I glared at him. "Eustace you little shit I was fighting and actually winning!"

"Put them in irons!"

The men swarmed on the four of us with chains.

"Let me go!" I yelled someone chained my hands. I could hear the others yelling as well.

"Let's take these three to the market," the man said, indicating Lucy, Eustace, and I. "Send those two to the dungeon."

"Listen to me you insolent fool!" Caspian roared. "I. Am. Your. KING!"

"Watch your hands!" I snarled at the man who was holding me. He had begun to let them roam on me.

Edmund struggled to get free but received a slap. "You're going to pay for that!"

"Actually," another man said. "Someone else is going to pay. For all of you."

The men began to drag me, Lucy, and Eustace away.

"Edmund! Edmund!" Lucy screamed as we both desperately tried to fight the men pulling us away.

"Edmund, Caspian, do something!" I called back, my voice rising to a shriek.

"Lucy! Rose!" Edmund fought back against the men.

"No! Edmund!" Lucy's voice broke into a sob.

I thrashed hard against the man, enough that his hands slipped enough for me to wrench away. I started to run towards Edmund, fully intending to attack his captor, but mine had already caught up to me and knocked me on the head. Everything began fading to black as I fell forward, my kidnapper catching me and he began to drag me away again.

"Rose!" Edmund bellowed.

I locked eyes with him. He didn't stop struggling as he watched me helplessly.

"Edmund," I whispered, not having the strength to scream anymore. Finally the pain caught up to me and I blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: That's right, ANOTHER CHAPTER. I'm on a roll!**

**Chapter 5.**

"Mummy! Mummy!" Through the thick haze of sleep, I heard a little girl crying. I struggled to regain consciousness.

"Eustace," I muttered. "Shut up."

"That's not me!"

I opened my eyes and was greeted by harsh sunlight. My head was pounding like someone was repeatedly hitting it with a hammer. My legs were stiff and my back was sore. I looked around me. I was chained to a wall, in between Eustace and Lucy, among many others. Some weren't even full human, but half goat. Fauns I think they were called.

"Look," Lucy said softly, looking forward.

I moved my eyes and saw the most heart wrenching sight.

Women were being taking away in a carriage. A man was chasing after it, calling for who I assumed was his wife. A little girl was running after him.

The man had managed to grab the woman's hand before two men who had been following the carriage punched him, knocking him to the ground. The little girl was calling for her mom the whole time. I felt my eyes tear up.

"Stay with daddy!" I heard the woman yell to the child.

"Don't worry!" the man said from his position on the ground. "I'll find you!" the little girl ran and held onto her father.

I buried my head in Lucy's shoulder, trying my hardest not to start crying.

I needed to be strong for Lucy. And for Eustace . . . I guess. I lifted my head up.

"Lucy, Eustace, listen to me." They both looked at me. "We're going to be okay, okay?"

They didn't even have the chance to respond before we were taken to go get sold to strange men, making my attempt at a pep talk seem pointless.

We stood on a small platform, with men gathered around.

I went first. I stood up front, barely able to stand. I tried to ignore the pain in my head. I kept wanting to just close my eyes and sleep but I had to stay conscious.  
"I know she's a mess now, but if you fix her up she could be absolutely beautiful! Do I hear sixty?"  
"Fuck you, I'm priceless," I snapped.

There was laughter in the crowd.

"Sixty!" a man called.

"Seventy!" Another said.

The bidding went up until one hundred and sixty.

"Sold!" The auctioneer said as he put a sign around my neck that said "sold".

"I am not a piece of meat, you asshole!" I yelled as I was roughly shoved to the side of the stone platform. Of course, my response was more laughter.

I watched as Lucy went forth. They started on sixty with her too, and went up to one hundred and fifty. She shrieked when she was shoved next to me. We huddled together like scared kittens who had lost their mother, or in our case we lost her brother. Oh yeah, and Caspian. But Caspian didn't make my heart race like Edmund did.

I had to figure out a way to get us out of this, somehow.

Then there was Eustace . . .

"And now, for this fine specimen," the auctioneer said. I snickered. "Who'll kick off the bidding?"

Absolutely no one said anything. It would have been extremely funny if it weren't a life or death situation.

"Come on now, he may not look like much, but, uh, he's strong."

This guy can't be serious. I started giggling. I couldn't help it. Lucy looked at me like I was crazy for laughing in a situation like this. I blame it on the head injury.

"Smells like the rear end of a Minotaur." Someone commented.

"That is an outrageous lie!" Eustace said indignantly. Some "oohs" went throughout the crowd. "I won the school hygiene award two years running."

"Oh my God," I moaned. "He's an idiot!"

"Oh, I know," Lucy said, gritting her teeth.

"Come on, someone take a bid!"

"I'll take him off your hands!" a familiar voice in the crowd said. "I'll take them all off your hands!"

A man pulled his robe off to reveal himself to be Drinian with Reepicheep on his head.

"For Narnia!" men started shouting, pulling off their disguises and beginning to attack.

Reep began attacking the auctioneer. Lucy and I watched in amazement as all hell broke loose. When Reep was finished with the loser who said I was worth sixty, he came over and got the handcuffs off of us.

"Thanks, Reep," Lucy beamed. "I knew you'd come."

You saved us," I said gratefully.

He bowed. "Your Highness, Rose."

He stabbed the hand of a nearby person and we all began fighting, Lucy and I using the money bags as weapons. I loved the irony of it.

"Take that, you disgusting pig!" I screamed, knocking him out. Soon, villagers began pouring in to help fight as well. It was an incredible battle. The thrill of it made my heart soar.

When my money bag split open, I settled for punching a guy instead.

"That's a girl!" Reep called approvingly. "You're a natural warrior!"

I dropped to the ground and slid my leg against a guy's ankles, knocking him to the ground. Lucy stomped on his face.

"Good teamwork," I said to her grinning. She beamed back at me.

Everything was going great. That is, until a guy hit me in the head again. Right where I got hit yesterday. Reep jumped on the guy and attacked him quite viciously for a mouse.

Lucy put an arm around me. "Rose, are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," I said breathlessly, leaning on her for support. My head was throbbing so bad I felt like I was going to vomit. At least I hadn't passed out.

Yet.

"Rose! Lucy!" I looked to see Edmund running towards us.

He captured Lucy in a big hug before giving me one.

"You're all right!" I said in relief, hugging him tightly. My knees started to go wobbly, but not for the reason I wanted.

He pulled back to look at me, frowning. "Yes, but are you?"

"I'm fine," I protested weakly. Oh God I sounded drunk.

"The guy hit her head pretty hard before," I heard Lucy say from behind me. "She just got hit again too. I think she's got a concussion."  
"Guys," I insisted, unable to stand without swaying. "I'm fine."

"Edmund, I don't think she can walk."  
I attempted to, but I nearly fell.

"Here, get on my back," Edmund said.

"No!" I said, the world spinning. I couldn't see straight.

"As your king that's an order!

I glared at him furiously, but gave in. With Lucy's help, I managed to climb on his back. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. Feeling tired, I laid my head down on his shoulder. He began walking. I closed my eyes.

"Stay awake, Rose."

"Fuck you," I said, slurring a little.

He chuckled. "Come on, just listen to the sound of my voice."

"I thought you were trying to keep me awake, not bore me to sleep."  
I heard Lucy laugh. "I think she's going to be okay."

"I think so too," Edmund agreed.

After walking for a short amount of time, I heard Caspian's voice. "Oh God is she okay?"  
"She's fine," Lucy said. "But she needs medical treatment for her head."

"Alright, let's get going." I felt Edmund start walking again, as well as heard people cheering.

"Your majesty!" I heard someone yell.

Edmund whipped around to look at something, causing a sharp wave of pain to go through my head.

"Oww!" I groaned.

"Sorry," he apologized. I opened my eyes to see Drinian holding a man back. I instantly recognized him as the one who had chased after his wife, with his daughter behind him.

"My wife was taken this morning!" he tried explaining.

"Daddy!" the little girl said, trying to hold onto his arm.

"It's all right Drinian," Caspian assured the protective captain, who stepped back to allow the man through.

"I beg you to take me with you," he pleaded before addressing his child. "Gael!"

"I want to come," she begged.

"No, Gael, stay with your aunt," he instructed her. Edmund had moved up right next to Caspian at this point. It was like having a front row seat.

"I'm a fine sailor," he said to Caspian. "Been on the seas my whole life."

"Of course," Caspian said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You must."

"Thank you," the man said gratefully as we walked away.

I could hear the little girl pleading with her father from behind. I swallowed thickly, fighting the urge to cry before burying my face in Edmund's shoulder.

The next time I looked up was because I heard someone call out, "My king! My king!" I saw that we were nearly at the row boats to take us back to the Dawn Treader.

An old man, holding a long, ancient sword spoke to Caspian. "This was given to me by your father. I hid it safely in a cave all these years."

"That's an old Narnian sword," Edmund said.

"It was from your Golden Age," the old man explained. "There are seven such swords, gifts from Aslan to protect Narnia. Your father entrusted them to us."  
"Who is "us"?" I whispered in Edmund's ear.

"That's Lord Bern. I'll explain everything later," he murmured, watching the exchange between the two intently.

"Here," Lord Bern said. "Take it. And may it protect you."

Caspian hesitated before taking it. More cheers from the watching crowd.

"Thank you my lord. And we shall find your lost citizens"

At that, we began walking again.

"Edmund," Caspian said, stopping, again. He held the sword out to Edmund, who took it automatically, before walking again.

"Here," Lucy said as he struggled to hold the sword in one hand, and me. She put it in his sheath for him

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

We went down to the row boat. It took a minute or two to get me in the boat comfortably but we managed. I laid down on the bench with my head in Edmund's lap as he, Lucy, and Reep examined it.

"I see the gash," Reep said. "She'll need comfortable sleeping arrangements."  
"She can share the bed with me," Lucy assured him.

"How come they both get the bed?" I heard Eustace protest from somewhere. "I woke up in a filthy, dingy hammock!"

"I'm not sharing a bed with you, Eustace," I warned.

"Wasn't asking you to," he shot back.

"Eustace is right," Edmund said, sarcastically. "He's a girl too. Let him have a bed."  
Everyone laughed, except Eustace who was silent for a few moments before saying, "I'd prefer the hammock."

"Good," I said. "I cuddle things when I'm asleep and I don't want to accidentally wake up holding you or something. I have enough nightmares already."

"The thought makes me vomit," Eustace snapped. "I'm sure my dear cousin would prefer to cuddle you anyway."

"That's an odd thing to say, Eustace," Lucy said, confused.

"I didn't mean you, Lucy," Eustace said spitefully.

Everyone went silent. Looking up at Edmund, I saw him glaring threateningly at his little cousin.

The major rocking of the rowboat hurt my head more than Eustace did.

"Are we almost there?" I asked, closing my eyes. If it weren't for the cramped space, my head hurting with every rock, and the group of people staring, I'd really enjoy the position I was in with Edmund.

"Almost there," Reep assured me. "You put up an amazing fight, little one! Just hang in there."

"Can do," I assured him, ignoring the irony in how he called _me _"little one". "It takes more than a few knocks on the head to keep me down."

"That's the spirit!" he said, patting my cheek with his little paw. It tickled, making me smile.

By the time we reached the boat, I was nearly asleep.

"Here, Edmund," I heard Caspian say. "I'll carry her onboard."  
"I've got her," Edmund said, helping me sit up slowly. I grimaced from the pain

Caspian looked doubtful. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Edmund, I really think—"

I cut him off. "Someone get me on the damn boat before I try and do it myself."

They exchanged looks of horror before both rushing to help me.

Men were so easily trained, even royalty.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks for the feedback! I'm loving it! I hope you enjoy this chapter my lovelies.**

**Chapter 6**

After being chained up, repeatedly hit on the head, and humiliated, it was a relief to lay in a soft, comfortable bed.

Edmund and Caspian had worked together to get me on the ship, without injuring me further I might add. Once on it, Lucy took me to our cabin room. With her help, I got into a white nightgown. It was pretty comfortable, not gonna lie.

"I haven't been this helpless since I was a baby," I complained as she helped me sit in the bed. "Why am I in a nightgown? It's still daytime."

She smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry. But we all agreed that you need to rest so you don't risk hurting yourself more." She leaned forward and hugged me. "You'll be back on your feet in no time."

I hugged her back. "Thanks, Lu," I said.

We were interrupted by three knocks on the door.

"Are you decent?" I heard Edmund call.

"Partially!" I called, just kidding.

"Good enough!"

Edmund came in with a small tray of bread, cheese, and apples. There was enough for the three of us to have a little bit each. I suppose it was the whole ship rations thing.

Feeling famished, the three of us dug in, both Lucy and Edmund sitting on the bed with me.

"Are you feeling any better?" Edmund asked me.

"A little," I said. "My head still hurts but I don't feel like I'm going to die anymore."

They both stared at me, slightly wide eyed.

"Well . . . that's positive," Edmund said before taking a large bite of his apple.

I nodded solemnly. "So what's the plan?"

Lucy looked to Edmund. "Yeah, what are we doing now, Edmund?"

"We have to find what the green mist is and destroy it."

I gave him a weird look as I spread cheese over my bread slice. "The what?"

"It's what they did to the people they took that didn't get sold," he explained. "They sent them on boats to sacrifice them to this green mist."

"Oh how awful," Lucy gasped.

"So those people are all dead?" I asked, my heart clenching at the thought of the little girl and her father.

Edmund shrugged. "We don't know. They just vanished into thin air."

I bit my lip. "We have to stop this."

"We will," Edmund said, his face deadly serious. "We have a plan."

"Good," I said, feeling slightly better.

Lucy stood up, taking the tray. "I'm going to go see how Eustace is doing."

"Why?" Edmund and I asked in unison, making us laugh.

"Because," Lucy said, trying to hide a smile. "Like it or not he's our cousin."

I smirked. "He's not my cousin. I can give him all the hell I want."

Lucy sighed before walking out.

"You should get some sleep," Edmund said to me, getting to his feet.

"Wait," I said, a question burning in my mind. "What did Eustace mean in the rowboat? About the cuddling thing?"

Edmund shrugged as he began walking backwards towards the door. "Who knows? It's Eustace. Stupid, stupid Eustace—" he cut himself off abruptly as he slammed into the door. I giggled.

"Oops," he said. "Watch it, there's a door here." I giggled more as he opened it and quickly left.

I had to admit, I was feeling tired and my head hurt like a bitch. I snuggled into the bed and shut my eyes. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until I felt myself being shaken.

"Rose, wake up."

I groaned. "No, go away."

"Rose, It's morning."

My eyes flew opened. "What?!"

Lucy was lying in bed next to me, her eyes heavy from sleep. I had slept so deeply I hadn't even stirred when she came to bed last night.

"Did I missed anything?" I asked, yawning.

She shook her head. "Not a thing, really. Everyone's been asking about you. How are you feeling?"

I put a hand to my head. "Great, actually."

Lucy beamed. "I know."

I stared at her in confusion as she got out of the bed and went over to a desk that was in the room. She picked up a small bottle shaped object and came over to me.

"This is a medicine that has magic healing powers. I gave it to you when you were asleep." She smiled mischievously. "Your mouth was hanging wide open."

I made a face, self-consciously rubbing my jaw.

"I got it from Santa Clause when I first came to Narnia."

I stared at her. "Santa?"

She nodded eagerly. "He _is _real!"

In that moment, my childhood was made.

I got out of bed and went to the mirror to examine my head. "Wow! There's not even a scratch left! That's awesome stuff."

Lucy nodded as we began rummaging for clothes to wear.

"It saved Edmund's life once. The White Witch stabbed him."

My eyes widened. I couldn't even begin to imagine how terrifying that must have been; so close to losing your brother.

"Well . . ." I said. "Thank the Lord for Santa."

We washed up and dressed in clothes that looked the same as yesterday, only this time I did something a little different to the white blouse. Using Lucy's dagger, I cut across the white blouse so that it was an off-the-shoulder top. It wasn't done neatly, but with the vest it looked fine.

"Wow," Lucy said. "You look beautiful."

"Not half as pretty as you do," I told her, tugging her ponytail playfully.

She smiled shyly. "Come on. Edmund was asking about you last night. I'm sure he's worried."

"All right," I agreed, a smile creeping up on my face.

We left the cabin and we were welcomed by a brilliant, sunny morning.

"Rose, Lucy, good morning!" Caspian came over to us, smiling. "How's your head doing?"

"I've recovered," I announced. "With minimal brain damage."

He laughed awkwardly and patted me on the shoulder. "Good to hear. Now if you'll excuse me."

Caspian walked away quickly.

"I think I scare him," I told Lucy.

"Nah," she assured me unconvincingly.

I grinned slyly and we walked towards the front of the boat, where Reep skittered over to us.

"Good morning, ladies," he greeted us. "I'd stay away from the front. The boy is in one of his _moods_."

"Thanks for the heads up," Lucy said gratefully. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with Eustace."

"Yeah . . ." I said, my eyes shifting. "Thanks."

With that, I took off running to the front."

"Oh, dear," I heard Lucy sigh.

I found him hiding behind some barrels, writing in a small black book. I circled around so that I could sneak up on him from the side. He was so absorbed in it, he didn't even see me coming.

Then, before he could even so much as blink, I snatched the book out of his hands.

"Hey!" he said furiously, jumping to his feet. "Give that back right now or I'll—"

"You'll what?" I teased him, jumping up onto a crate and tangling it.

"Give it back right NOW!"

I dropped it and he caught it.

"Chill out, man," I told him, leaping off the crate. "I'm just messing around with you."

He glared furiously at me. "I'm cool enough, thank you!" he whirled around and stomped off, shoving Edmund out of his way as he did so.

Edmund's face twisted angrily and he made a fist, as if he was about to go after Eustace, but thought better of it. With an exasperated sigh and a shake of his head, he came up to me.

"Barely awake and already putting Eustace in an even worse mood, eh?"

"It helps me get my day started right," I told him seriously.

"Most people eat breakfast for that," he said grinning.

My stomach growled in response to that. I pursed my lips in annoyance. "Okay fine, that's the other thing the starts my day."

Edmund took me to the ships food stock and got me some food, which I devoured.

When I was finished, we found a place to sit and I watched him as he tried to fix his sword by chipping off the stone like coating on it.

"That was nice of Caspian to give it to you," I commented.

He shrugged, but gave no further response.

I pursed my lips. Obviously he wasn't into talking about his feelings. I tucked my legs underneath me and leaned in closer to him.

"So . . . correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sensing some hostility."

He looked up from the sword at me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I lowered my voice slightly, not wanting any of the sailors to hear and accuse me of treason or something equally stupid. "To put it bluntly; do you not like Caspian?"

"Of course I do!" he sounded genuinely shocked. "It's just—I don't know."

"What?" I pressed gently, though inside I was burning for some answers on what was going through his head.

He sat in silence for a moment, just concentrating on his sword. "I don't like being overpowered," he said finally.

I frowned. "What do you mean? You're a king, aren't you?"

"Yes," he said. "But all my life I had to deal with my brother Peter being in control, and now Caspian. He's in command on this ship."

I didn't say anything for a while. I just watched him thoughtfully.

When he realized this, he ceased what he was doing and looked back at me, finally meeting my eyes. "What?"

"I think you're a great king," I told him honestly. "But there's always going to be someone more powerful than you. Besides you're only seventeen. You can be king and you'll s_till _have no power until you're at least twenty-one."

Edmund smiled and glanced downward. "I suppose you're right."

I nudged him with my elbow. "Of course I am. Now get back to work. I want to see my reflection in that sword."  
He chuckled. "Yes, your Highness."

I chewed over that for a moment. "Hm . . . I could get used to that . . ."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry guys but this ones a pretty short chapter compared to my others. I promise the next one I give you will be much longer. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

Edmund worked on his sword almost all day. I liked talking to him though. I asked him questions about Narnia and the creatures here and he'd give me long, descriptive answers, as well as funny stories.

I did go and check up on what the others were doing. Eustace was back in his place, hidden behind the barrels and crates writing in his diary. I made a mental note to go sneak and read it later if I happened to be bored. Lucy was talking to Reep and Tavros, or as I liked to call him, the giant teddy bear. Meanwhile, Caspian was at the steering wheel with Drinian.

So, of course I stayed with Edmund.

"The sword is going to look absolutely beautiful when it's done," I told him. "When do you think you'll finish?"

He smiled. "Soon, I hope."

"Do you think we'll find the source of the green mist?" I asked.

"Of course we will," he assured me. "This must be why my sister and I were summoned here; to help."

I sighed. "That doesn't explain why _I'm _here though. Don't get me wrong; I love be here. But it would be nice to know what my purpose is."

He patted my knee and said with a straight face, "You're certainly not here to keep me on task."

I grinned. "Sorry. Get back to work or I'll kick your royal Highness."

"Yes, ma'am," he said sarcastically, going back to chipping off the rough stone of the sword.

I watched him in silence for a little while longer until an idea popped into my head, which of course I had to share right away.

"Maybe . . ." I began hesitantly, "you could teach me how to use a sword myself?"

"Why?" he asked, looking at me in confusion.

"Well, what with everything going on I want to be able to defend myself and all of you guys in any way I can, because obviously I'm not good at it."

Edmund shook his head. "No . . . what I mean is, why are you asking me? Caspian is a much better swordsman, or even Reep."

"Because I don't want Caspian or Reep to teach me. I want _you _to teach me."

When he didn't respond right away, I continued trying to persuade him.

"Will you, Edmund? Please? I'll curtsy if I have to."

That seemed to pique his interest. "Would you really? You, actually _curtsying_?"

I chewed on my bottom lip. "Will you teach me or not?"

"Not unless you curtsy," he said, grinning. "I was going to say yes anyway, but now you put the idea in my head."

I made a face. "You suck." But I got up and stood in front of him with my hands clasped in front of me.

"Edmund," I began.

He struck a regal pose, as if sitting on a throne. "Yes?"

As dramatically as I could, I began my speech. "Dear, sweet, King Edmund. Will you give up some of your free time to possibly teach me how to not die? I promise to be a good, obedient student who will dedicate herself to whatever you have to teach."

Then, with as much flair as I possibly could, I gave him a curtsy.

As if unable to help himself, he started laughing.

I stood up straight, my cheeks burning. "There, happy?" Thankfully we were near the back of the boat, by the door to me and Lucy's room so no one was really around to notice me. If someone had, the whole crew would have found out and that would have probably have earned me a one way ticket to being mocked forever.

Edmund sat the sword aside and stood up. I crossed my arms and looked expectantly at him. He walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I suppose I can do this favor for you."

I smiled. "Good. But don't say a thing about the curtsying. I have a reputation to protect."

Edmund smirked. "I'm sure."

I leaned in close to him. "When should we start, your Highness?" I whispered.

"Tonight," he answered. "After everyone's asleep. It'll give us more room and less bodies for you to accidentally stab."

I rolled my eyes and took his hand off my shoulder. "Whatever you say, my liege." With that I turned and walked away, hoping he hadn't heard how loudly my heart had been beating the entire time his hand had been on me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The entire time that I walked away from Edmund and his sword, I could feel his eyes on me. My heart was still pounding like a jackhammer. Yeah, I needed to get away for a bit. I had to keep my cool.

Except, leaving Edmund nearly got me KILLED.

Just kidding. But Eustace did shove me out of his way and almost off of the damn boat while running away from Reep.

"Hey watch it!" I said, gripping the railing, looking down at the water. If he had shoved any harder I would have flipped over the railing.

Scowling, I followed the two, wondering what Eustace had done this time.

Reep, for some reason, had taken it upon himself to try and duel with Eustace. When Reep cut through Eustace's shirt and plucked out an orange, throwing it at Drinian who caught it in an impressive catch I might add, I figured out what happened.

Lucy came up behind me. "What's going on?"  
"You're _adorable _cousin is a food thief, that's what."

Then, Eustace tried to fight back.

My jaw dropped as he pitifully swung his weapon back at Reep.

"Who in their right mind would give him a _sword? _For heaven's sake!"

Lucy didn't answer me, she just kept her eyes on her cousin.

We watched the duel intensely. The entire time, Reep was actually instructing him on how to fight properly. I made a few mental notes so that I wouldn't seem totally defenseless when Edmund gave me my lesson tonight, though I'm sure that I still would be.

Watching Eustace attempting to fight Reep made me laugh so hard I nearly cried. He was missing Reep completely.

At one point, Reep wobbled and appeared to have fallen off the ship.

Of course, Eustace fell for it and peered over the edge while Reep snuck up behind him, turned him and give him a good, hard shove.

"And that is THAT!" he declared. Eustace slammed into a tall basket and knocked it over, causing the basket to shriek.

Wait, what?

Lucy and I exchanged looks and walked forward slowly.

A small child-sized hand stuck out.

"Look," Lucy said, watching as the child emerged from the basket.

I felt my eyes widen. It was the little girl whose mom had been kidnapped and father had come with us here.

Sure enough, her father pushed through the crowd with an incredulous look on his face. "Gael? What are you doing here?"

Gael stood up slowly and looked back at her father, with a sad look on her face. My eyes darted back and forth between the two, trying to figure out what they were both thinking.

Finally her father reached for her. "Here," he said gently, folding her into a small hug.

The thudding of a pair of boots made their way towards us. Drinian, who was still holding that damn orange.

The father and daughter watched him, awaiting his response. Would he kick them off? Drinian didn't seem to be that mean, but I couldn't be sure.

"Looks like we have an extra crew member," he commented. A relieved smile spread across the fathers face as Drinian offered the orange to the little girl, who took it shyly.

Lucy left my side and walked up to the little girl.

"Welcome aboard," Lucy told her in a very kind, queen-like way.

"Your Majesty," Gael said, respectfully awed.

"Call me Lucy," she said, smiling.

"Come on," she said. Lucy put an arm around her and began to lead her away.

I almost followed, but decided to go find Caspian and find out when we'd arrive at our next destination instead.

I found Caspian and Edmund talking.

"Hello, dearies," I greeted them. They both stopped talking abruptly.

"Hello, Rose," Caspian greeted me. "What can I do for you?"

"When are we going to get to wherever it is we're going, do you think?" I questioned, darting my eyes back and forth between the two.

"Tonight," Edmund answered, giving me a pointed look.

Well there goes my sword lessons.

I smiled and nodded. "Well that's good."

"Yes," Caspian agreed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go oversee preparations."

He walked away, leaving Edmund and I alone.

"There goes that plan," I said with a sigh. "But it's okay, I lived once. There's a good chance it can happen again as long as I don't do anything stupid."

He stared at me. "Well . . . we all know that's not going to happen."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He grinned. "I'm just kidding. I can still teach you, you know."

I looked at him doubtfully. "How? I mean we're on some big mission to save the world and what not."

"We're most likely going to make camp there for the night before anything. We can sneak away."

I raised my eyebrows. "Sneak away? It's not like we're doing anything _bad. _I mean, you're just teaching me to fight . . ." I trailed off when I saw him smirking.

"The crew likes to talk, Rose," he said. "And I'm a _king_."

I rolled my eyes. "Gotcha. Well that's fine then, your royal Highness. I'll be bad to protect your reputation." I patted his shoulder and walked away, shaking my head, my cheeks burning.

Especially when I heard Edmund call to me after a moment of hesitation, "Wait, hold on! How bad?"

I chose to ignore him. No use in making any promises I may or may not keep, right?

**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I should be able to update again tomorrow. If not, then definitely on Monday. Tell me what you think so far. If you have any suggestions you have for upcoming chapters go for it and tell me! I love feedback. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

By evening, we were approaching a mysterious looking island. It was nothing but forest from what I could see. After overhearing a conversation, I knew Caspian was wary about landing, which made me feel slightly worried. What if it w_as_ a trap? We were looking for one of the missing lords but he was obviously missing for a reason and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out what that reason was. But Edmund seemed determined to go, and unfortunately I seemed to have a knack for sticking by his side.

Damn him.

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Lucy and Gael. Gael was adorable and very shy. Lu and I did our best to make her feel at home. It worked, I think. But she seemed to only want to be with her dad, which was natural. I learned his name was Rhince.

We reached the shore of the island around eight '0' clock. We set up our camp and built a fire, which we all gathered around and ate a small meal. I sat next to Tavros and chatted with him. As far as Minotaurs go, he was pretty cool. Pretty soon Reep joined us. Eustace was sitting by himself, which made me feel guilty. I asked him if he wanted to sit with us and I got a very snarky response.

The little punk.

When it was time for bed, we put out the fire and set up our sleeping areas. I set up my blanket by Lucy and laid down.

After about ten minutes, the night was filled with the sound of snores and crickets. I couldn't tell if everyone was asleep yet though, so I laid still. After about another fifteen minutes, I still wasn't sure.

Then a hand went over my mouth. My eyes flew open and I saw Edmund crouching over me, with his finger pressed to his lip to indicate me to be quiet.

I shot him a look of annoyance, showing him that he had scared me to death. He grinned back and nodded his head for me to follow. I slowly got up, looking around me. Sure enough, everyone was fast asleep. Eustace was snoring as loud as the rest of them, his mouth hanging wide open. Oh God he did look like a little piggy.

I bit my lip to keep from snickering. I could tell Edmund was having trouble keeping a straight face too. He grabbed my hand and we practically ran to get out of there before we laughed out loud and woke everyone up.

Once we were far away enough, we couldn't stop laughing.

"Did you see his mouth hanging open?" I said, cracking up.

He nodded, laughing so hard he could barely speak. "And the way he was laying?"

I couldn't even respond. We probably spent a good five minutes laughing before we calmed down.

"Okay," he finally said. "Okay, let's start practicing."

"Alright," I agreed.

He took out a sword from his sheath and handed it to me before pulling out his own.

"Okay," he said. "First off, you're holding it all wrong."

I made a face. "We haven't even started and I'm doing something wrong."

He came over and positioned my hands on it correctly. "There you go."

My fingers tingled where he touched. Maybe I should have asked Reep for help. Edmund was making my heart race so fast I was pretty sure I'd pass out.

Keeping my eyes downcast, I said, "Now what?"

He stepped back. "Now we'll see what you can do."

Before I could so much as blink, he began swinging at me.

"Shit!" I jumped back a few steps. "What the hell?"

"Did you think I was going to go easy on you or something?" he asked me, not once pausing in his attacks.

"I hoped," I admitted, blocking his swing with my sword.

"There you go," he said approvingly.

We kept at it for an hour. He disarmed five times. Reading a lot of books and watching movies did help me some, but I certainly was no swordswoman. I was getting better but it was a slow process.

After he disarmed me a sixth time, we took our positions again. Instead of running at each other like we'd been doing, we both walked in a slow circle, each of us waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

He was grinning at me like a villain in a movie.

"Are you sure you don't want to quite, Rosie?" he asked cockily.

"Dream on," I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on him

Suddenly he lunged. In reflex, I stopped him with my blade. I was pushing against his blade with my own. I had a plan forming in my head. It was daring, but I was getting desperate to win at least once. He was much stronger and I couldn't hold him off for much longer.

So I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. I don't think anything has ever surprised him more in his life, not even stumbling upon Narnia in wardrobe.

His grip on his sword loosened immediately, so despite every instinct in my brain telling me that I should keep kissing him, I knocked the sword from his hands and pointed my own at his chest.

"Finally!" I cried, pulling away and jumping up and down.

"You cheated!" Edmund insisted, still looking astonished.

I shrugged and said, "I found a weapon and used it against you, nothing wrong with that, is there?"

He stared at me, mouth slightly agape.

I walked over to him and used my hand to close it, trying not to giggle excitedly like a little girl.

"So you kiss me for two seconds and win," he said, still trying to grasp what I did.

I nodded. "Yup. Although I feel like that'll only work on you." I gave him a sly smile and started to turn around to walk back to starting position when he grabbed my arm and swung me back to him.

I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"You're such a tease," he said, almost exasperated.

"Just a little," I admitted.

Then we were kissing. At first, it was soft and sweet. Then it grew deeper and more passionate. His arms went around my waist and I locked my fingers in his hair. I felt like I was drowning and I loved every second of it. His lips were fierce yet gentle against mine. I felt his tongue traced my lips.

"What the hell is going on?!"

We jumped apart and looked to see Caspian, looking seriously pissed.

"I woke up and you both were gone!" he said furiously. "I've been looking for you for a half hour!"

I tried to explain. "Look, he was just teaching me to sword fight."

"Yes that's exactly what it looked like," Caspian said sarcastically.

Edmund was silent, which wasn't good. I could practically feel his anger rising.

Caspian rubbed his temples. "In case you haven't realized, we are on unfamiliar territory. I don't care what you do, just not in the middle of the night and not when at any moment you could be killed!"

"So you think I couldn't have defended us?" Edmund snapped, walking forward so that he was in front of Caspian.

"You don't know if you could have or not," he argued back. "People have gone missing, do you really think they just went off for a holiday?"

"Knock it off, both of you!" I yelled. "Before you annoy whatever you think is out there and it kills you to shut you up!"

They stopped, but glowered at each other.

"We made a mistake," I said, coming up to Edmund and taking his hand. "It was dumb and it won't happen again."

"You got lucky this time," Caspian said, his voice low.

The temptation to say hell yeah we did was overpowering, but I decided now wasn't the best time.

"Let's just go back to camp," he said with a sigh. "Come on."

You'd think that'd be the end of it, but no. They argued the whole way back. I learned that putting two kings together on an adventure to save the world didn't exactly mix well.

When we made it back to camp, they had calmed down. At least Caspian had, but I could tell Edmund was still angry.

Each man went to his spot and laid down without a word. I hesitated before grabbing my blanket that was by Lucy and walking over and lying next to Edmund, pulling the blanket over us both. He put an arm around me and pulled me close, our foreheads touching. He smiled softly.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

He had a reluctant look on his face when he said, "Yeah, I know he's right."

I nodded and snuggled my head into the crook of his neck.

"You're my favorite king," I said softly.

I barely felt him kiss my head before I slipped off into a deep comfortable sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I'm not sure if I can update tomorrow . . . so I stayed up to give you guys a nice, long chapter! Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Keep them coming, dearies.**

**Chapter 10.**

I was sound asleep, snuggled in Edmund's arms when the absolutely _lovely _sound of Caspian's voice woke me up.

"Ed, wake up!"

I felt him being shook. Knowing that Caspian was trying to get him up, I clutched him closer.

"Huh?" Edmund muttered sleepily, also holding me tighter.

"Wake up, look!"

I felt him let go of me. I opened my eyes to see Edmund, looking alert, get to his feet. The sun was just coming out. Without Edmund's warm body, I was freezing. Yawning, I sat up and saw Caspian and Edmund staring at something on the ground.

"What is it?" I asked hoarsely, my eyes still heavy with sleep. I didn't get an answer so I stood and looked, feeling my eyes widen and every trace of sleepiness go away. There were giant footprints in the sand.

"Where's Lucy?" Edmund asked suddenly. I looked, and sure enough Lucy was gone.

"Lucy?" he called. "Lucy?!"

"Everybody up!" I heard Drinian hiss. I hadn't even noticed he was awake. "Up, I say!"

Everyone was on their feet with weapons in hand in no time. My heart was pounding as I ran along-side Edmund. Lucy could be hurt, or worse.

No, I'm sure she was fine. I refused to think the worse.

We didn't stop running until we came upon a strange looking garden. The bushes were bright green and in weird lumps, almost like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

We all began to walk more cautiously, waiting for a trap to spring itself out at us.

Edmund and I looked around for anything that could be a clue. Then at the same time we spotted one.

"Caspian," Edmund said, almost hopefully. "Lucy's dagger!"

Caspian walked over to investigate when sharp spears suddenly flew out of nowhere.

I jumped back, narrowly missing one.

"Nice reflex," Edmund said, staring in horror at the spear sticking out of the ground where I had just been standing not even a second ago.

I laughed weakly, trying to keep from passing out. I had been that close to becoming a freaking kabob.

"Stop right there or perish!" a rough voice commanded.

Holding onto Edmund's arm, I among the others, looked towards to source of the voice. Nothing was there.

Caspian's sword was suddenly wrenched from his hands and he staggered back as if he had been hit in the face. All around me, everyone was having the same issue.

I felt something hit my legs, making me fall to the ground with an "Oof!"

I looked up and saw Edmund having issues, as if he were being hit.

"Edmund!" I cried, attempting to get to him. Something grabbed my leg and wrenched me away.

I kicked at it hard and scrambled to my feet and ran to Edmund who caught me in his arms protectively, though his sword seemed to have been stolen. I really wish I had grabbed a sword before we left.

"What sort of creatures are you?" Caspian asked shakily, laying on the ground. We all got up and grouped back together. It looked like everyone's weapons had been stolen and now were being used against us by the invisible creatures.

"Big ones," the rough voice answered. "With the head of a tiger and a body of a . . ."

I raised my eyebrows, expectantly. Something was definitely off.

"A different tiger!" another voice chimed in.

"Yeah!"

"You don't want to mess with us!"

"Or what?" Edmund snapped.

My jaw dropped as a figure right in front of us began to appear. "Or I'll claw you to death!" it said.

I looked around and I wasn't sure whether to weep with relief or burst out laughing. The "terrifying creatures" were nothing more than short, odd looking men with only one ginormous leg, which explained the footprints we saw. To appear tall, they were all being held up by one or two of their buddies and brandishing poles as weapons.

"And I'll ram my tusks right through you!" one of them said.

Obviously they weren't aware that they were becoming visible. Edmund and I exchanged looks, neither of us quite sure what to make of the situation.

"And I'll gnash you with my teeth!"

"And I'll bite you with my fangs!" he attempted a pathetic sounding growl, gritting his teeth which made his face look all the more funny.

"You mean squash us with your fat bellies?" Caspian asked. Before him, I never knew that there was a fine line between anger and amusement. Caspian was on that line.

"Yes!" one creature agreed stupidly before realizing what he said. Confused protests came from them as they all looked down at their round little tummies.

"Tickle us with your toes?" Caspian continued. Hm . . . yeah, I forgive him for interrupting me and Edmund last night.

The creature, being held up by two others, fell down. They all looked so weak and pathetic, it was cute.

Caspian laughed, crossing the line to amusement. I somehow managed to keep contain myself to a giggle as Edmund marched forward. "What have you done with my sister, you little pipsqueak?" he demanded.

I'd almost forgot that these were the things that kidnapped Lucy. I ran up next to him as he pointed his sword at whom I assumed was their leader. He had a long beard and looked as old, yet young and innocent as the rest of them.

"Now calm down," the little guy answered, looking nervous.

"Where is she?" Edmund snapped, sounding almost exasperated. I gripped his elbow, hoping he wouldn't tackle the creature. Unless somehow they _had _hurt Lucy. Then I'd beat them senseless.

"You better tell him!"

"Tell him, chief!"

"What are they, your back up vocalists?" I couldn't help but ask.

"In the mansion," he finally answered.

"What mansion?!" Edmund demanded as I said, "Are you on crack?!"

The creature went all shifty eyed, but we didn't need an answer.

There was a shimmering, liquid-like sound coming from our left.

Lo and behold, not very far away a mansion that looked like it was from a story book began to take form. It was huge with stone walls and vines climbing up the sides of it.

"Found it!" I announced sarcastically.

"Ohh!" Edmund said knowingly. "That mansion!"

Before I could respond, because of course I just had to, a voice I loved oh so much took over.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you all leaving me behi—" Eustace cut himself off in shock, something I don't think we'll ever see again. Eustace, being silent.

"The pig's come back," one of the creatures said in awe as we all looked behind us to see Eustace in the distance staring at us.

"Trust me, he never leaves," I responded, trying not to laugh.

"This place just gets weirder and weirder," Eustace said, looking at the troll people who began to murmur amongst themselves indignantly about being called weird.

Suddenly, they all began jumping up and down yelling, "Oppressor! The Oppressor!"

Edmund, Caspian, and I turned around to see a balding man with dark brown hair and a short brown beard in a long brown robe, followed by Lucy.

"Lucy!" Edmund said in relief, mixed with surprise.

"You're okay!" I cried. The whole "not going to think the worse" thing hadn't worked too well for me. I thought I'd drive myself nuts with the endless possibilities.

"Your Majesty," the so called "Oppressor", said as he bowed to Edmund and Caspian.

I wonder if he thought I was a queen and was bowing to me too.

"Caspian and Edmund," Lucy began. Nope, I wasn't being bowed to.

I coughed not so subtly.

"And Rose," she said quickly. "This is Coriakin. It's his island."

I realized Edmund and Caspian bowed slightly in respect, so I quickly did the same.

Maybe I was supposed to curtsy . . . oh well.

"That's what he thinks!" the chief creature said snappishly behind us. "You have wronged us, Magician!"

Coriakin spoke to them the way a mother would to her child when she was at her wits end. Calmly, but with annoyance and a little exasperation. "I have not wronged you I made you invisible for your own protection." He was walking towards them and they backed up.

"Protection?"

"That's oppressive!"

"Oppressor!"

I laid my head on Edmund's shoulder. I had barely spent ten minutes with the things and now _I _was at my wits end.

"I have not oppressed you!" Coriakin said calmly.

"But you could've . . ."

"If you'd wanted to."

I lifted my head up. "We got disarmed by _them_?" I questioned Edmund, just to be sure.

"I think so," he said uncertainly as we watched the scene.

"Be gone," Coriakin said, tossing some white powdery stuff at them. They all fled past Eustace, anxiously claiming it was magic.

"That wasn't magic, was it?" I said to Coriakin.

"It was lint," he admitted. "But don't tell them."

I laughed. "No worries." They were all frantically trying to get away.

"What were those things?" Eustace asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Dufflepuds," Coriakin answered.

Eustace rolled his eyes and became a sarcastic little shit again. "Right. Of course. Silly me."

But he still gave the Dufflepods a wary look before following us as Coriakin led us to the mansion.

I gave Lucy a tight hug as we walked. "We were worried sick about you!"

"I know," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I assured her, pulling away. "Just leave a note next time."

I winked and she laughed. I slowed down so that I was next to Edmund again and he automatically wrapped an arm around me.

"Did I miss something?" Lucy asked in amazement.

Edmund and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"Not really," I said. "But if you need any highlights of what happened ask Caspian to update you."

Caspian glanced back.

Whoa . . . if looks could kill.

I smiled sweetly but murmured under my breath to Edmund, "Don't ever let him near me if he's armed ever again."

"No promises. He _is_ a king after all."

And at the rate I was going, I'd be dead by nightfall.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Coriakin's mansion was as incredible and magical as everything else in Narnia. We were walking down a long, dark hallway. He was leading us to somewhere—not quite sure where, but I stopped asking questions and walked between Caspian and Edmund. Lucy ahead of us, talking to Coriakin.

"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" Lucy asked him.

"Well they're not exactly threatening looking," I commented. "A bunny with a twitchy nose could have them running for cover."

"Indeed," he said with a sigh. "It seemed the easiest way to protect them from the evil."

"You mean the mist?" Edmund asked.

"I mean what lies behind the mist," Coriakin explained ominously.

Oh good because I thought that evil green mist just wasn't enough to be afraid of.

He stopped and we entered what appeared to be a large study. There were books everywhere, but the freakiest part was that above our heads, in different sections, were rotating blue shimmering lights that looked like the night sky.

"Wow," I said softly. I looked back to Coriakin just in time to see him dramatically unroll a long scribe. He barely flicked his wrist and it unrolled, landing on the ground where the most incredible map shone. The center of it was more clear and lifelike than a television set.

"It's quite . . . beautiful," Eustace said, surprising me. Maybe Narnia was doing as good for him as it was me.

I looked closely at the scribe. I could see many tents and a centaur blowing into a horn. My jaw dropped when I realized that it was actually _moving_. There was some kind of battle going on. Creatures were running at each other. I could hear dogs barking and a lion roaring from it.

"I mean, for a make-believe map of a make-believe world," Eustace continued.

"You were this close to saying something that wasn't annoying, kid," I said with a sigh. "Now we're back to square one. But don't you worry, I'll have you believing soon enough."

"You're just as crazy as the rest of them," Eustace said brusquely.

Keeping my cool, I replied, "If that's true then how come you see what we see?"

"I can separate fantasy from reality," he shot back.

I just shook my head at him, not bothering to retaliate. He'd come around eventually.

Maybe.

"There is the source of your troubles," Coriakin said, putting an end to me and Eustace's spat. "Dark Island." The center of the giant map was shifting to show us this said island. "A place where evil lurks." It zoomed on it. It definitely lived up to its name. It was like a giant, dark floating rock with an eerie green glow in the center.

"The name's at least comforting," I tried to joke. Even from the map I was getting all kinds of bad vibes.

"It can take any form," Coriakin said, walking forward to where Edmund and I stood. "It can make your darkest dreams come true."

I swallowed thickly and looked at Edmund, his face was more serious than I'd ever seen. He knew what his darkest dreams was, I could see it in his eyes. I laced my fingers through his and he squeezed my hand tightly.

Coriakin wasn't done scaring us yet, though he at least turned and started doing the stare down to people other than Edmund and I. "It seeks to corrupt all goodness. To steal the light from this world."

"How do we stop it?" Lucy asked, sounding far braver than I felt.

"You must break its spell," Coriakin said. He turned back to us and pointed at Edmund.

"That sword you carry, there are six others."

"Have you seen them?" Edmund asked. I didn't bother telling him that if he squeezed any harder he'd break my hand. I just rubbed my thumb across it, trying to soothe him.

"Yes."

"The six lords," Caspian said, "they passed through here?"

"Indeed," Coriakin said.

"Where are they headed?" Caspian asked.

"Where I sent them," Coriakin said simply. "To break the spell . . ."

Well, obviously, they didn't do such a good job. I wonder if it'd be disrespectful if I said that out loud . . .

I didn't get the chance. "You must follow the blue star," he said, pointing to what I assumed was the star floating above the map. "To Ramandu's Island. There, the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can their true magical power be released."

All of us exchanged uneasy looks as he continued speaking in his creepy, morbid way.

"But beware," he said. "You are all about to be tested."

"Tested?" Lucy asked. Coriakin turned to her.

"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you."

He leaned closer to her. "Be strong. Don't fall to temptation."

I felt my eyes move to Edmund and saw him looking back. He nodded, trying to look reassuring. I leaned against him.

"To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness in yourself."

What did that even mean?! Since I'd gotten here, I'd been nothing but happy. My past was nothing but a blur. Now here he was telling us things that would probably give me plenty of nightmares to prepare me for the damn real thing.

No, I could do this. I would do this. For Narnia, for my new friends, and for Edmund.

Not that I'd be much help, but it's the thought and foolish attempts that count.

I looked at Caspian, who was staring intensely, deep in thought. Lucy looked as fearful as I felt, though we were both attempting a brave face.

The model of the blue star glowed brightly. Staring at it made my heart pound.

I was so screwed.

**AN: Hope you liked this chapter! Review my lovely Narnians! It encourages me to update faster! **


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: R&R my dearies!**

**Chapter 12**

The walk back to the Dawn Treader was a quiet, depressing one. Each of us were absorbed deep in our thoughts, wondering about the journey that lie ahead.

Before we left, Coriakin fed us a nice hot meal and then wished us good luck. Easy for him to say. He had a huge mansion and magical powers to hide with.

The lucky bastard.

When we made it back to camp, we gathered our belongings and got set to sail again.

Well, the men did anyway. Lucy and I took Gael to our room on the ship and we all took a nap. Lucy and I woke up a couple hours later and dressed in clean clothes before we began talking quietly on the other side of the room, so as not to wake the exhausted child.

"Are you scared?" was the first words out of my mouth when we settled down on the floor.

"Yes," she admitted. "But I know we'll be okay."  
I sighed. "I wish I knew what my "darkest dream" is. Then maybe I could prepare myself for whatever we face."

"I don't think anyone can prepare themselves to meet their worst nightmare," Lucy pointed out.

"I guess," I agreed glumly.

"Don't worry, Rose," she said kindly. "Have faith."

I nodded. "Right. Maybe we can use your cousin as a human sacrifice or something."

She stared at me in horror.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" I said quickly. "That would never work with Eustace. They'd give him right back and kill us all."

"Right . . ." she said slowly, trying to figure out I was kidding again or not. "Well, I know we can save all those people." She glanced over at Gael who was sleeping peacefully.

"Poor thing," I said softly. "Lu, do you ever miss your mom?"

She nodded. "All the time. What about you?"  
"I didn't," I admitted. "I love her, but we never really got along that well. I do a little now that I've realized I could die at any time."

"No you won't," Lucy said fiercely. "We'd never let that happen. In case you didn't realize, we've all grown quite fond of you. Especially my brother," she teased.

I smiled, blushing. "So you're okay with it, right?"

"Well, yes, but what are you going to do if we all have to go to our own times?"  
I felt myself go cold. I hadn't thought of that at all. I'd been so caught up in what was happening now I didn't spare a thought for the future. What would I do if this came to an end?

I stood up. "I need some air."

"I didn't mean to upset you," she said apologetically, standing as well. "But it's something you need to consider."

I bit my lip and nodded before turning around and leaving the room.

I barely had closed the cabin door behind me when Reep scampered over to me. "Glad you've finally woken up and decided to join us, Rose!"

I shrugged. "I'm a teenage girl. I need sleep and a lot of it."

Reep nodded knowingly. "Ah, yes. I'm sure staying up with the king must be very taxing."

I made a face. Was nothing a secret anymore?

"He was giving me sword lessons," I insisted. "I'm better than Eustace now."

"Hey!" I turned around and saw Eustace looking highly offended.

I grinned at him. "No offense."

"Whatever," he muttered.

I patted his head and walked past him. I was trying to make my way to the front of the ship but crew members kept stopping me to talk, including Gael's dad, Rhince.

"How is Gael doing?" he asked me.

"She's sleeping soundly," I assured him, which made him happy.

I finally made it to the front and I had just climbed over the railing to sit with my feet dangling over the water when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

"I thought you'd be asleep the rest of the day," Edmund said in my ear.

"Damn it, how'd you find me?" I teased, leaning my head back against his chest.

"I was up at the steering wheel with Caspian and Drinian," he explained. "I saw you."

"Glad I'm more fun than they are," I said, closing my eyes in contentment. I could already feel myself drifting off to sleep.

"If you fall asleep I'll let you go," he said warningly.

My eyes flew open. "But I could fall if you do that."

I felt him shrug. "Oh well."  
"Edddddd," I whined.

"You've been asleep for a while," he protested. "I'm bored!"

I swung my legs over the railing and turned to face him. "I didn't sleep well. I wasn't being held by you," I said, sticking my lower lip out into a pout. "We can't do that anymore like last night."

He paused for a moment as I wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him Bambi eyes.

"Plus . . . Lucy kicks."

Edmund let out a groan and let go of me, backing up a few steps.

"You're terrible," he told me, but he was laughing. I grinned wickedly and walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Seriously though, I slept great being held by you."

He leaned down and kissed me. It was slow and sweet. His lips perfectly molding against my own.

'_What are you going to do if we all have to go to our own times?'_

I abruptly pulled away, Lucy's words echoing inside my head.

"What's wrong?" Edmund asked, hurt reflecting on his face as I backed away.

I stopped and stared at him, trying to smother the lump rising in my throat.

"Rose?"

"What's going to happen if we win?" I blurted out.

He frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When this is all over," I said, looking at him sadly, "what if we go back to our own time?"

Understanding dawned on him. He started shaking his head wildly. "No, that's—no. I won't leave. You can't leave. No."

"Ed, there's a chance it will happen," I said rationally. "I know I haven't known you long at all but I don't—" The lump came back. I took a deep breath. "I can't just . . . get close to you and then lose you forever."

"It's not going to happen," he said fiercely. "It won't." He started to walk. I thought he was going to storm past me but he stopped right in front of me.

He took a deep breath. "Every time I leave here, I feel this empty void. Every time I've left I have regretted it and wish I had stayed. Maybe this is the time when I'm meant to stay for good."

I shook my head. "Edmund, I can't make you leave your home for me, that's too much. I won't let you." I started to turn around to walk away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"Rose, I w_ant _to. _Narnia_ is my home and I want you to be a part of it."

"And what about Lucy?" I demanded. "What about your brother and sister and your parents? Do you really want to give them up?"

He hesitated, some of the determination fading from his eyes. He looked down at the ground.

"See?" I said softly. "You can't just give them up for me."

When he didn't say anything, I took his hands in mine. "Look, I think you need to think on it before you make any promises."

"What about you?" he asked, looking up at me.

"I already know what I'm doing," I answered. I let go of his hands and began backing away. "I'm staying in Narnia."

I walked away, trying not to break down and cry.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Walking away from Edmund was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done-no joke. I wanted to turn around and run to him in slow motion and beg him to forgive me and forget what I said.

But I really didn't want to get hurt if I have to leave him soon.

I spent a good twenty minutes in the food storage room ranting about my situation with him to the first person I could grab.

"And I really I care about him and I know I said that he would regret staying but if he doesn't I'll be heartbroken and THAT'S why the color yellow makes me sad I think . . ."

Eustace stared at me as if he'd never quite seen me before. I nodded importantly.

"When you dragged me in here I thought you were going to kill me," he said finally. "This is much worse." He jumped to his feet and fled.

"Yeah, well you're no picnic either!" I yelled after him, though he was out the door before I finished my sentence.

I muttered darkly before exiting the room as well.

Edmund was nowhere in sight, which was both a disappointment and a relief. I wanted to get my mind off him though, so I decided to go bug Caspian.

"'Sup broski's?" I greeted him and Drinian. They exchanged a look before Caspian shrugged and turned to me with a cheerful expression.

"Rose," he greeted me. "How are you doing?"

"Peachy keen," I said. I looked down at the deck and could see Lucy talking to Gael and Rhince, who was working diligently with his crew. "When do you think we'll arrive at our next destination?" I questioned.

"If the weather stays this nice, within the next few days, hopefully," he said.

I looked back to Lucy and with a jolt realized that Edmund had joined them.

"Yeah," I said softly, as Edmund looked up and his gaze met mine. "Hopefully."

Later that night while I was asleep I had my first nightmare since coming to Narnia.

_A pale, blonde woman dressed in a long white gown was laughing at me, sitting on a throne made of ice. Her arm was around Edmund, who was looking at her in adoringly. _

'_Did you really think you could survive here, child?' she asked me mockingly. 'Or think that any of them could ever love you?'_

'_They care about me,' I insisted furiously. 'This is my home! Tell her, Edmund!'_

_He looked at me and scoffed, looking at me in disgust. _

'_I did once," he said. 'Not anymore.'_

_I felt my heart break._

_The woman stood, leaving Edmund standing there obediently. She walked up to me, looking terrifying and beautiful all at once. She bent slightly so that she was eye level with me._

'_This is my kingdom,' she said softly, with pure ice in her tone. 'Edmund is mine, Narnia is mine.' A sinister smile crossed her face. 'And so are you.'_

_Suddenly, a staff appeared in her hands and she thrust it into my stomach, watching me in satisfaction as I gasped in pain and sunk to the floor._

'_No,' I said through gritted teeth, though surely I was dying. 'I won't surrender to you, not ever.'_

_She narrowed her eyes at me threateningly before shifting her eyes to something behind me. 'Finish her.'_

_I couldn't even scream before I was lost to the sound of snarling and the feel of sharp teeth ripping into my flesh._

I jolted awake with a loud gasp, my heart racing and tears streaming down my cheeks. I covered my mouth with my hand, but saw with relief that I hadn't woken Lucy or Gael up.

Without even pausing to think about it, I quietly climbed out of the bed and tip-toed to the door and slipped outside. The sea looked dark and beautiful, stars were sparkling brightly in the sky. I shivered in the cool night air. I had insisted to Lucy that the nightgown was too hot, so I had cut the sleeves and the skirt of it short. Now I wish I kept it long. I made it to the door and, as quietly as I possibly could, went below deck.

I looked around. Not surprisingly, there was a lot of snoring from all the men sleeping in their hammock beds, which explained how no one woke up when I opened and closed the trap door.

It didn't take me long to find Edmund, sleeping peacefully in his own hammock. He looked so angelic, I almost turned around and left, not wanting to disturb him.

But I didn't. I silently went to him and shook his shoulder slightly.

"Ed," I whispered. "Ed, wake up."

"Mm?" he blinked rapidly, trying to regain consciousness. When his eyes finally focused on me, he looked slightly cautious, as if thinking I was going to start screaming at him or something.

"What is it?" he asked, fighting off a yawn.

"I . . ." my voice trailed off for a moment, realizing how silly I was going to sound. "I had a nightmare."

He just watched me, waiting for me to go on.

I subtly tried to wipe the tear stains off my face. "And other than scarring me for life, I realized that I don't want to push you away just because I'm scared of where the future will leave us. I mean, it could all work out perfectly for all we know." Hot tears began to blur my vision." I buried my fists into my eyes, furiously trying to make the tears stop.

""I-I really don't want to lose you—and I never cry!" I choked out. "Damn you, Edmund!" My voice broke off as the tears fell thick and fast. Edmund took my hands and helped pull me into the hammock with him. There wasn't much room, but I certainly didn't mine. I don't think I'd ever been more comfortable in my life. I was laying in his arms, my head on his chest as he slowly rubbed his hand up and down my arm. Our legs were tangled together and I clung to him, not feeling cold anymore.

After a couple minutes, he spoke up. "It's going to work out."

"How do you know?" I asked, the tears having subsided.

He paused, thinking hard. "Because," he finally said, moving his hand to my back and holding me even closer. "Narnia hasn't failed me yet."

"That's reassuring," I muttered. "Try again."

He chuckled. "Okaaay, how about we just take one day at a time, and hope for a miracle?"

"I guess that's all we can do," I agreed reluctantly. I hated that plan, but I had been apart from him not even twelve hours and I was a mess.

Edmund presented me with a fist. "Come on, bump it," he told me, grinning.

A giggle escaped me as I did so. "I can't believe I taught you that. Well I better let you sleep, your Highness."

I started to shift to get up but his arms tightened around me.

"You can stay," he murmured. "What's the crew going to do? Make us walk the plank?"

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure Caspian has been plotting against us since the moment he caught us being lucky."

He fought to stifle his laughter. I glanced around the room, relieved that everyone was still fast asleep.

I stretched my neck to press my lips against his in a quick kiss.

"Okay, enough making fun of pretty boy. Go to sleep."

"In a minute," he said dismissively.

This time, he leaned down and began kissing me, at first slowly but then it became more urgent. Pleasure trickled through me and I eagerly deepened the kiss, loving how incredibly perfect his lips felt against mine. All I wanted was more.

Suddenly, he pulled away. "Alright, goodnight."

"And you called me a tease," I muttered, closing my eyes and snuggling into him. He didn't answer me, though I could practically feel him smile. He stroked my hair gently, lulling me to a deep, dreamless sleep.

Before I fell asleep, a question formed in my head. Who was the woman in my dream?


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Sorry about the recipe thing that was at the end of my last chapter. Thanks to vampire13eb for pointing it out! No worries—I fixed it. My computer is so fucked up beyond repair it takes stuff from other documents sometimes and—I don't even know WHAT it does Dx. Um, yeah, so R&R everyone! I should have chapter fifteen up tomorrow or on Friday. We'll see what happens. Okay, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14**

"Rose," a voice whispered in my ear. "Time to get up."

I buried my face deeper into my cushion.

"My pillow doesn't talk," I muttered.

"I'm not a pillow, love."

Oh, yeah. I spent had spent the night with Edmund again.

I lifted my head up to see him looking at me in amusement.

"We're the only ones not out of bed yet," he said.

I looked around and sure enough, every hammock was empty.

"Did anyone see me here?" I asked him, tiredly.

"No one seemed to go out of their way to look into my hammock—so no."

Feeling reassured, I got up and we both went up to the deck. Edmund went to go talk to Caspian while I fled to my cabin to get dressed. I only got a few stares along the way. I was hoping that no one could put two and two together, though I didn't really have anything to worry about. We only snuggled together and kissed a little bit. If only we'd been alone more could have happened . . .

Ahem, anyway, Gael and Lucy were still fast asleep when I made it to our room. I cleaned myself up as quietly as I could and worked to get the snarls out of my hair until it looked normal again.

I dressed in the usual blouse, vest, and pants. This time I put on a black belt to tuck a sword in—if I ever got access to my own. Maybe Caspian would take the hint and give me one.

When I was done, I looked out the window. It was probably about seven in the morning or so. I started to leave the room when I heard Gael start whimpering.

I went to the bed and saw her curled up in an uncomfortable looking ball. Her face was scrunched up tight and tears were streaming down her face. I guess I wasn't the only one who was having nightmares.

I straightened her out and sat on the edge of the bed next to her, rubbing her back until the whimpers subsided and the look of fear on her face smoothed into a peaceful smile.

I walked out and immediately went to find Edmund, who was sitting down on a crate, sharpening his sword.

I sat down next him. "If it gets any sharper it'll cut through be able to cut through stone." I paused. "Or Eustace's head."  
"I see you're on to my plan," he said with a grin.

"I had the same one," I explained. "So do you want to help me with my sword fighting since we got rudely interrupted last time?"

"I don't know if I can handle your cheating," he said sarcastically.

"I'll be good," I promised. "Come on."

I got him to agree and he found a sword for me to use. Like last time, he didn't even say go before he began attacking. But this time, I was expecting it.

"Ha!" I said after blocking a blow. "I can swing my sword 'cuz I am the LORD of swords—augh!" I threw myself to the ground when he nearly cut me.

"Talking isn't going to help you win," he warned.

By this time, a crowd had gathered around. I jumped to my feet and we began a sort of dance that involved us circling each other. He always seemed to know when I was going to strike him.

I, however, never knew when he was going to hit. We'd been going at this for a while and I hadn't been disarmed yet, which was positive. But I hadn't gotten any closer to winning.

"Come on, Rosie," Edmund said tauntingly. "We haven't got all day."

I narrowed my eyes at him and swung. Of course, he blocked me easily. Laughter and jeers from the audience were ringing in my ears.

Think, think, think! How did I beat that slave trader guy? Oh, right!

I kept circling, keeping a look of frustration on my face. He opened his mouth, but I didn't give him enough time to say anything. I dropped to the ground and slid my leg against his ankles as hard as I could. Not expecting it, he fell. I leapt to my feet and stood over him, pointing my sword at his chest.

The crew roared in surprise and laughter.

"I win," I declared.

"Not quite," he said. He grabbed both of my knees and pulled hard enough that I fell on top of him, a shriek escaping me. He rolled us over and straddled me, holding the sword against my throat.

"Now I win," he said grinning wickedly. The crew erupted into cheers.

I glared. "You're evil."

"Hey, I didn't have to kiss you to win."

". . . Fair enough," I admitted.

The crowd had started to break up and go back to work, seeing that the fight was over.

"Edmund," I heard Caspian call from behind me. Edmund got off of me and I quickly got to my feet.

He and Edmund began speaking quietly to each other. Watching the exchange, I frowned, wondering what was going on. Finally Edmund nodded and Caspian walked away.

"What's going on?" I asked, going up to him.

"There hasn't been any sign of land or of the blue star," he admitted. "This might take longer than a few days."

I was silent for a few moments before I said, "Is it bad that I don't mind?"

"What do you mean?!" I heard Eustace demand from behind me. He ran up to us. "This is terrible! I'm never going to get home! This has been your plan all along, hasn't it?!"

Edmund rolled his eyes. "Yes because nothing gives me greater joy than being stuck with you on a ship."

I looked at him thoughtfully. "You're a king, Ed. Can't you just have him executed?"

Now Eustace rolled his eyes. "Oh ha-ha, very funny." He looked back to Edmund who seemed to be in deep thought.

"You're not actually thinking about it, are you?!" Eustace demanded, his voice going an octave higher.

"Of course not," Edmund said unconvincingly. I fought back a giggle at the terrified look on his face as he backed away, slowly at first, but then he broke into a sprint.

Satisfied that we were once again alone, I said, "Don't worry, we'll get by."

He nodded. "And in the meantime I can keep winning the duels."

"Not for long, Pevensie. Not for long."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

We spent a week at sea with absolutely no sign of land or of the blue star. The crew began to lose hope, while I felt it grow. I didn't care how long it took. The longer it took, the longer Edmund and I had. The guilt gnawed at me for thinking like that. I mean, people were being taken by evil green mist and who knows what was happening to them? But I couldn't help but love being on this epic quest.

Of course, it wasn't all fun and games. I actually wasn't seeing Edmund much at all anymore, which was depressing. He and Caspian were always locked up in the cabin, trying to figure out what we were doing wrong. Gael got seasick a lot so Lucy and I took care of her most of the days. Eustace spent his time curled up in different nooks and crannies writing in that damn diary.

I wasn't able to sneak into Edmund's hammock at night anymore, for Caspian and Drinian "forbid" it. Something along the lines of inappropriate, not a good example for the crew from their king, etcetera. I don't even know, I tuned them out when I saw their lecture faces go on and just nodded like I was listening. Edmund wasn't too pleased with them, but he didn't fight back.

A few nights later, Edmund and I went to sit up in the crow's nest. The night sky was filled with twinkling stars, though it lacked the blue one we were searching for. The air was cool, but soothing.

"Caspian really needs to find himself a girl," I said once we settled comfortably. It was cramped with us both sitting, but I certainly didn't mind.

He rolled his eyes. "He did once. It was my sister."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "Lucy?!" I squeaked.

"No, no, no," he assured me hurriedly. "My other sister, Susan."

I put a hand over my heart, gasping in relief. "I don't think I've ever been closer to a heart attack in my life! He is way too old for her!"

Edmund just smiled, looking down.

"Are you scared?" I asked, echoing my question to Lucy.

He shook his head. "No, are you?"

I nodded. "A little."

"There's nothing to worry about," he assured me.

I bit my lip. "I don't know, Ed. Coriakin seemed pretty serious."

"It's going to be fine," he said wrapping his arms around me. "Are you cold?"

I shook my head and leaned into him. His confidence was only a little reassuring, I still had this nagging suspicion that something was going to happen.

"Will you tell me about the White Witch?" I asked suddenly.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and frowned. "What? Why? I already told you what she did."

"I want to know what you thought of her," I said softly. "About how she tricked you."

He didn't answer me. The expression on his face almost scared me, he looked angry. His eyebrows were scrunched together and he was scowling at his lap, deep in thought.

"You don't have to tell me," I said, pulling away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I'm going to go to bed."

I started to stand up but he grabbed my hand. "No, it's okay. I'll tell you."

Slowly, I sat back down next to him. He didn't speak at first. I patiently waited for him as he struggled to find the right words to say.

"I was only a kid," he finally said. "A kid who was away from home, and I was sick of constantly being pushed around and told what to do."

I laced my fingers through his and kissed his hand, urging him to go on.

He held my hand against his cheek as he continued to talk. "She told me everything I needed to hear to make me feel like special. I fell right into her trap. I just got so desperate to please her I even—" he cut himself off, choking on his last word.

"Edmund, it's alright you don't have to keep going."

He took a deep breath, composing himself. "I gave up my brother and sisters for her. To please her. Even when she locked me up I told her what she wanted to know."

He went silent again for a few moments before talking again. "I was rescued. Even after I betrayed everyone, Aslan showed me mercy I didn't deserve."

"You were a kid, Edmund," I said softly, stroking his cheek, wiping a stray tear that ran down his face. "You didn't know any better."

"I should have known better than to give them up," he said, shaking his head furiously. "It was my family."

"You went back to them," I insisted. "You fought against her. Ed, you redeemed yourself. Your family forgave you and Aslan forgave you."

He looked at me, a desperate look on his face.

"You're a good man," I said gently. "And a good king. Your past doesn't make you who you are today. You have to move on and remember who you really are, not what the Witch said you were."

He nodded, staring at his hands. I curled up in his lap and laid my head against his chest, his arms went around me. I ran my hand up and down his chest and murmured soothingly, trying to comfort him. It seemed to work, he slowly collected himself and kissed my head.

"One last question, I promise. What'd she look like?" I asked.

"Pale, blonde hair," he said with a shrug. "Tall."

A wave of terror went through me. Well, fuck.

I bit my lip, trying to contain the scream that was building inside of me. I highly doubted she was alive or anything, but something planted that dream inside me. I thought of what Coriakin said, about facing our darkest dreams.

We were definitely on the right track to find the source of the green mist. It already tried to hurt me.

But should I tell him?

"Edmund, we can't turn around," I whispered. "No matter how long it takes."

I could practically feel confusion radiating off of him. "Why do you say that?"  
"Because we're going the right way," I told him.

And I proceeded to tell him about my dream.

**AN: Sorry, short chapter. I should be able to update tomorrow. Review? Okay? Okay. ;) **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16.**

Edmund found my dream even more disturbing than I did. We agreed not to tell anyone about it, but to keep encouraging Caspian to press forward.

A week and a half later, things weren't looking so good for us. We got caught in a terrible storm and there still wasn't the slightest sign of land. Edmund, Caspian, and Drinian had met in the cabin to discuss our options, for the millionth time. I tried to eavesdrop but I couldn't hear. So I went and waited for Edmund to give me all the details.

Sure enough, he told me what I'd missed. Captain Drinian was reluctant, but had agreed to keep pressing forward. Unfortunately, our food rations could only hold us for another two weeks.

"Things aren't looking good, Edmund," I said with a sigh. It was late and the storm was violent as ever. The crew was on deck, trying to keep control of the ship for the night.

So, of course, I took advantage and snuck down to lay with Edmund in his hammock. He was now sharing a room with Caspian, which was a lot nicer than where the crew slept.

"We'll be okay," he answered me confidently.

I gave him a look as the hammock gave a rough sway, nearly knocking me off.

"I promise," he insisted, gripping my arm to keep me from flying.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not psychic, you don't know that."

"Come on, try and have a little faith," he complained.

"Lucy said that to me a couple weeks ago," I said thoughtfully.

"Well, we're right," he pointed out. The ship rattled violently, making me glance around worriedly.

"The crew can handle it," he assured me. "Come here."

Unable to resist, I snuggled up closer to him, and he held me tight. We were silent for a while, long enough for me to drift off.

"_You won't succeed, you do realize that, don't you?"_

_I was standing before the White Witch who was on her throne looking at me greedily._

"_Of course we will," I hissed. "Get off your fucking high horse and accept the fact that you're dead. You have no power over anyone anymore."_

_She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"_

_I gritted my teeth. "Yes, so leave me alone and go back to the hell hole you crawled out of!"_

"_Edmund!" she suddenly called. "Our guest is a little . . . confused. Please jog her memory."_

_I turned around just in time to see Edmund stab me with his sword._

I woke up, flailing and screaming.

"Rose, Rose, it's okay! It was a dream!"

I opened my eyes and realized I was on the floor. I saw Edmund leaning over me, trying to restrain me.

"Stay back!" I shrieked, tears pouring down my cheeks. "Don't touch me, you monster!"

Hurt reflected in his eyes, but he didn't let go. "Rose, you're safe! You had a nightmare."

I stopped flailing and stared at him, my mind slowly recollecting itself. I

"Oh, God," I choked out. "I'm sorry!"

He sighed with relief and pulled me into a tight, comforting hug. "It's alright," he murmured, patting my back. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

He pulled me to my feet and he carefully helped me back into the hammock.

"Was it her again?" he asked, holding me in his arms.

I nodded. "Yeah, only this time . . ."

"What?" he urged me.

I bit my lip. "She had you stab me."

"That'll never happen," he said fiercely. "These dreams are just trying to scare you, and tear you away from me."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know."

He opened his mouth to reply, but Caspian suddenly came in, looking beyond exhausted.

He stopped when he saw the two of us snuggled up in the hammock. "Damn it, Ed," he said with an exasperated sigh.

"I'm scared of thunderstorms," I said automatically, feigning a look of innocence. I faked a sniffle and said in a childish voice, "After all . . . I'm only a girl."

I could feel Edmund shake with silent laughter.

Caspian rolled his eyes when I batted my eyelashes, bringing my bottom lip out into a pout.

"Go to bed," was all he said before getting into his own hammock.

Edmund and I stayed silent, though neither of us slept. We were both wrapped up in our own thoughts.

Around an hour later, Caspian suddenly cried out, "Father! Father!"

If that weren't weird enough, Edmund looked over and slowly lifted his head, watching something intently.

Suddenly, he jerked to a sitting position and yanked his sword out and pointed it at something. Where the hell did that come from? I knew he was in love with the damn thing but I didn't realize he slept with it too! I sat up, ready to slap him if necessary.

"_He'll never stay with you," _a voice whispered in my ear. I looked around wildly but saw nothing.

"_You're just another thing he'll leave behind in Narnia for the real world. You do know what that is, don't you?"_

"Shut up!" I snapped, looking around for the culprit.

"_You'll always be trapped in your fantasy world, no matter how hard you try to escape."_

"Edmund? Rose?" a voice whispered. Edmund and I both jumped with a gasp. We both looked to see Lucy standing next to the hammock. "Oh, Lucy," he said with a relieved sigh. I swallowed thickly, shaking like a leaf.

Suddenly, Caspian jolted awake with a small gasp.

"Good morning, sunshine," I greeted him before looking back to Lucy.

"I can't sleep," she admitted. Edmund exchanged a look with me and I nodded. He glanced between Lucy and Caspian.

"Let me guess," Ed said. "Bad dreams."

Lucy and Caspian's faces confirmed it.

"So either we're all going mad," Ed continued, sounding slightly pissed, "or something's playing with our minds.

He laid back down, looking almost lost. I hesitantly laid back down too and looked at Lucy and Caspian, who were both looking down in an almost state of shock.

"Lu, are you okay?" I asked her gently. Caspian was a big boy—I'm sure he was fine.

She nodded and forced a smile. "I'm alright. I better get back to bed now, in case Gael wakes up."

I smiled sadly. "Yeah, I guess so. Goodnight, hon."

She left and Caspian fell back asleep shortly afterwards.

I knew Edmund wasn't asleep, but I didn't want to say anything.

Turns out, I didn't have to.

"I saw her," he finally said, opening his eyes and shifting his head to look at me.

"She's very persistent, I'll give her that."

He rolled over slightly so that he was facing me. "These are showing us our "darkest dreams", right? What is it that you're so afraid of?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

He nodded slowly. I leaned forward and kissed him deeply before tucking my head in the crook of his neck.

"We need try and sleep," I said, closing my eyes.

If the White Witch Bitch came back, I would lock her in a room with Eustace for ten minutes. That should keep her away for good.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17.**

I slept in late the next morning. What can I say? Last night left me really tired. After all, I did face what I assume was probably only phase one of the evil thingy. I didn't even stir when Edmund got up, which personally I found impressive since we _were _on a hammock. I would have slept in even later most likely, but Lucy and Gael woke me up with the news we'd been awaiting for what seemed forever.

"We found land!" a voice yelled in my year excitedly. Groggily, I opened my eyes to see the two girls standing over me, beaming. Lucy had been the one to oh so kindly awaken me.

"Why did you sleep in King Edmund's hammock, Rosie?" Gael asked me, confused. She had heard Edmund call me that when he was teasing me before, and now that's all she called me. I didn't mind, exactly. It was cute—coming from her.

"Did he have to sleep on the floor?" she asked curiously.

"Uhh not exactly, sweetheart," I said, flickering my eyes to Lucy desperately.

Lucy, bless her heart, cut in. "Gael, why don't we take Rose to get dressed and then we'll go on deck with your dad until we arrive?"

"Okay," she agreed, happily.

I shot Lucy a grateful look and quickly got up. Gael, sweet, innocent Gael, automatically took my hand.

Smiling, I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and we walked to our room. I cleaned up and dressed in a light purple, almost lavender, blouse with a tight black vest that I personally would consider to be a corset, tight black pants and the usual black boots. Not only were these boots stylish, but also amazing for kicking ass.

. . . Plus they were the only pair of shoes they had left for me.

Any who, when I was done, we went on deck and I took off running to the front of the boat to see the land for myself. Sure enough, in the distance, was an island.

"Finally!" I shouted, pumping my fists into the air with joy.

"I know," a voice agreed. "I thought you were going to sleep all day." I grinned as Reep climbed up onto the railing in front of me.

I chuckled. "Good morning to you too, Reepicheep. Do you know when are we going to get there?"

"Oh, probably an hour or so."

Sure enough, about an hour later, we were in rowboats going to the island. I sat in the front with Lucy as we watched the men row. Eustace, apparently not being a man, was curled up in the back.

"I doubt the lords stopped here, my liege," Reep called over to Caspian from the other rowboat. The adorable little guy got to stand on the very front of the boat. "There's no sign of anything living."

"Right," Caspian agreed, though I knew that wouldn't stop us from looking. "Once we're ashore take your men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues."

I beamed. Hell yes, I got to do the fun stuff with the royals! Unless the fourth was Eustace, but somehow I highly doubted it.

"Hang on," Eustace cut in from the back, "you mean the five of us."

In unison, we all turned to stare at him, trying to see if he was joking or not. Sadly, he wasn't. I couldn't help but smirk at him from my perch up front. Poor Eustace was a couple of fries short of a Happy Meal.

"No, dear, I'm pretty sure he meant the FOUR of us," I said, grinning as I did a dramatic hair flip to emphasize the fact that they considered me their number four. "Sorry, hon. Maybe next time."

"They're only taking you because you're sleeping with who they call their 'king'," he shot back angrily. "That's the only reason you're considered special here."

Everyone went silent. I could almost hear the sound of jaws hitting the ground and eyes popping out of heads. Lucy and Edmund's eyes both flashed to me, silently pleading with me not to do anything stupid.

"Now, Rose," Caspian said nervously. "Don't do anything rash, okay?"

I suppose the way I acted next might be considered "rash".

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I yelled, attempting to lunge at Eustace. Lucy tried to restrain me, but failed. It took Caspian, Edmund, and another crew man to keep me from strangling the little monster. "YOU ARE SOO GONNA GET YOURS ONE DAY!"

Eustace, looking terrified, scrambling back as far as the rowboat would allow him. The entire boat was in utter chaos, rocking around as everyone scrambled to either keep me back or keep from flipping over. I hope the crew on the other boat at least found us comical because laughter was the farthest thing from my mind at the moment.

"Let it go, Rose," Caspian instructed me with calmness only a king could have in a situation like this. "Just let it go."

"Eustace, apologize, NOW!" I'm sure Edmund sounded scary, but I barely registered it. I was too busy plotting.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Eustace said hurriedly, looking at me like I'd escaped from the depths of his own personal Hell. I bet he saw me last night in a hallucination trying to teach him manners or something.

"There," Edmund said trying to sound reassuring. "You see? He apologized."

"He's only sorry because he knows I can beat him to next week and back!" I said furiously.

"Not true!" Eustace protested, his voice cracking. Little British brat.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "One of these days Eustace, I swear . . ." I relaxed and everyone who had hold of me, seemingly reassured that I wasn't going to attempt murder at the moment, let me go. I pulled away from them and looked around to address everyone. "And we haven't 'slept' together, we've just slept together, but not like that—I mean—we—oh for the love of all that is good and pure in this forsaken universe, you know what I mean!"

Cheeks flaming, I sat back down. Everyone, and I mean from both boats, continued to stare at me. Half of them looked slightly sorry for me, the other half looked concerned for their own safety. Which was pretty reasonable—one wrong look and I'd be ready to snap a neck or something.

"Are we going or not?" I snapped. "We have a lord to find and a world to save!" Immediately, everyone rushed to start rowing again.

"At least you got your temper back," Edmund commented casually. "Even the mist can't take that away, no matter how much was ask."

I shot him an annoyed look, though a smile crept up on my face. He grinned, looking triumphant that he'd gotten a smile out of me.

Eustace looked slightly guilty, but I honestly didn't give two shits.

If the evil green mist doesn't knock some sense into this kid then I sure as hell will.

**AN: Sorry everyone, it's a really short chapter. I probably won't be able to update till Monday, maybe. I don't know—we'll see. By the way . . . I saw the movie "We're the Millers" and I was geeking out because our very own Eustace Scrubbs (known to "normal people" as "actor" Will Poulter) was a main character (he's like, nineteen or eighteen now which is really, really weird). Well, I absolutely love Eustace so of course I got all excited but then there's this one part where he gets bit by a highly poisonous spider in the balls and IT FREAKING SHOWED IT FOR LIKE FOUR WHOLE SECONDS! GUYS, I SAW EUSTACE'S PENIS AND I CAN'T EVER LOOK AT HIM THE SAME WAY WITHOUT DYING A LITTLE INSIDE! MY WORLD HAS SHATTERED! ...So yeah, review and what not…meanwhile, I'll be seeking a therapist.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Just so you know, I read them all and they totally make my day! Thanks for your love, support, and feedback!**

**In response to Bethany/Flameheart/Pevensie fan's question, Peter's real name is William Moseley.**

**Now, I present to you . . . **

**Chapter 18.**

When the rowboats finally pulled up to the island, I was relieved. There was a good chance that Eustace could "accidentally" get "left behind".

Just kidding. What can I say? I'm a vengeful person.

Anyways, we got off the boats and I followed Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy to search. The island, from what I could see so far, was pretty cool. Although, personally, I thought it looked like a sunken volcano crater or something.

We hadn't been walking long when Caspian suddenly called, "Look! We're not the first ones on this island!"

"The lords?" Edmund questioned. Standing next to Ed, I looked to my left and saw smoke rising from a crater and gave a small shudder. Ugh, definitely like a sunken volcano crater. We came across a pit deep in the ground that seemed quite deep. Caspian threw a stone down it and it rattled its way down.

"What do you think could be down there?" Caspian wondered.

"Let's find out," Ed said.

"Must we?" I complained to Lucy.

She shrugged. "There could be something important."

"I suppose," I agreed reluctantly. "But how exactly are we going to get down there?"

Dumb question; of COURSE they conveniently had rope.

"I thought you were looking forward to having an adventure," Ed teased me as him and Caspian set up the rope for us.

"I was," I protested. "I mean, I am! But climbing down a dark pit of despair wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"It's not even dark," Caspian pointed out, grinning. "The sun is shining into it."

I made a face at him. What could I say? He had a point.

"Okay, okay," I said, holding my hands up in surrender. "I'll stop whining. But if I fall, I'll come back as a ghost and you'll WISH that the green mist was all you had to worry about."

For some reason, no one seemed very threatened.

"I'll go down first," Edmund volunteered.

My eyes widened. "What?! It could be a trap! You could DIE! Let Caspian do it!"

Caspian shot me a dirty look. "Thanks, Rose!"

"It's nothing personal," I assured him. "I'm just saying, Edmund's younger! He has more to live for. But you however. . ." With a sad sigh I patted his shoulder. "You only have a few pretty years left, handsome."

He stared at me, whether he was offended or seriously thinking about what I said, I'll never know.

"Too late," Lucy piped up.

"What?" I turned and glanced down the pit and saw Ed already started climbing down.

"Damn it, Ed!" I said in exasperation. He looked up at me and grinned.

"Don't you dare smile at me! Pay attention to where the fuck you're going before you fall!"

Laughing to himself, he obeyed me. The three of us peered down at him, watching him carefully for any sign that something bad would happen. He expertly scaled down the stone wall though, as if he'd done this a million times; which, let's face it, he probably has.

When he made it to the bottom, I let out a huge sigh of relief and good naturedly hit Caspian on the shoulder. "And you were worried!"

Seeing that Edmund had not screamed or died yet, we took that as an okay to go down.

"Oh boy," I muttered, cracking my knuckles as a pathetic way to prepare myself.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Lucy inquired as Caspian began to make his way down.

I shook my head. "Not at all, but I don't particularly like the idea of falling and cracking my skull open either."

"Just watch us," she told me confidently. By the time Caspian made it to the bottom, Lucy was halfway down and I barely started. I slowly maneuvered my way down.

"You're doing great," Lucy encouraged me as she neared the bottom.

"Yeah," I agreed with surprise. "I am!"

I focused on my feet as I climbed down the wall, gripping the rope so tightly that I thought my knuckles would burst through the skin. It was a slow process, but I did it without falling.

When I made it down, Caspian and Lucy had already started to walk through the cave without me.

"Hey, wait up!" I called, running after them. I caught up to them and we found Edmund, staring into a small pool of clear water. Inside was a statue of a man gripping a sword, his face full of fear. Nearby, another statue of a golden man was kneeling, reaching a hand out into the water.

"What's that?" Caspian asked, echoing my thoughts.

"I don't know. Looks like some sort of gold statue." Edmund walked away. I didn't look to see what he was doing until a heard a loud ripping noise. I looked over at him and saw that he had ripped a thick tree vine/branch off of the cave wall. Meanwhile, Lucy and I sat on a large stone.

Edmund stuck the stick into the water slowly and pulled it out. My jaw dropped as the branch slowly began to turn the color of gold. No, wait, it was turning INTO gold.

"Look out!" I cried as the color nearly touched his hands.

Realizing what was happening, he let out a yell and threw it back in the water. I put a hand on my pounding heart. That had been _close._

We all watched as the now solid gold stick sunk to the bottom of the pool.

Those statues had been living, breathing human beings.

I swallowed thickly and Lucy and I walked over closer to the statues with the guys to examine the poor bastards who, ironically, had no luck at all with gold.

"He must have fallen in," Caspian said softly.

"Oh gosh," I whispered, staring into the horrified eyes of the now golden statue.

"Poor man," Lucy said sadly.

"You mean "poor lord"," Edmund said. I followed his gaze to a golden shield in the water.

"The crest of Lord Restimar," Caspian confirmed. _How _did he know this?! Damn king.

"And his sword!" Ed said, pointing to where a non-golden sword laid in the water.

"We need it," Caspian said.

Edmund pulled out his own sword. I cringed. If he fell in . . .

"Be careful," Lucy warned him.

He slowly stuck his sword in the water and began to use it to lift the other one out.

"You're sword hasn't turned to gold," Lucy stated as Edmund carefully lifted the sword out of the water.

"They're both magical. Here," Caspian said, gripping Ed's arm to steady him before grabbing our new sword.

I felt my heart rate go back to normal. I threw my arms around Ed. "I'm going to die of heart failure if you keep this up."

He rolled his eyes and brushed me off. "Relax, I'm fine." I frowned. He sounded so . . . cold. I gave Lucy a bewildered look. She looked just as puzzled.

We both shrugged it off but it bothered me. Ed had never been like that to me before, especially not when I had been scared.

"He mustn't have known what hit him," Lucy commented. I made a sympathetic noise. I couldn't imagine what kind of slow, painful process turning into gold was.

"Maybe," Ed said, setting his sword down. "Or maybe he was onto something."

Lucy and I exchanged confused looks as Ed plucked a shell from the ground and bent down to the water.

"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked.

Edmund stuck the shell into the water and every instinct in my brain was screaming at me that something was wrong here. Quickly, he pulled it out and set it on the ground. We watched as the ordinary shell became solid gold.

Ed eagerly snatched it up and stared at in absolute sheer amazement.

"What are you staring at?" Lucy questioned, sounding as confused as I felt.

"Edmund, what's gotten in to you?" I asked anxiously.

Ed's eyes wandered back over to the water. "Whoever has access to this pool . . ." he said slowly, "could be the most powerful person in the world."

Caspian, Lucy, and I looked at one another in shock. Edmund hadn't been looking at the shell in amazement—it had been with complete and utter greed.

He looked up at me and Lucy. "Lucy, we'd be so rich. Rose, you could come back and stay with us. I'd be able to take care of you always. No one could tell us what to do." He had a wild look in his eyes. "Or who to live with."

The way he was looking at me wasn't how he normally looked at me. There was no warmth or kindness. Not even the slightest trace of a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. I was now an item for him to possess.

"What the hell is the matter with you!?" I demanded in disbelief.

"You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund," Caspian said quietly.

"Says who?" Ed hissed, staring at the shell as if it were his first child.

"I do."

"Oh shit," I muttered as Ed's head turned to stare incredulously at Caspian. Lucy and I glanced back and forth between the two men worriedly. This was _not _going to go over well.

Edmund looked around the room, as if waiting for someone to pop out and say, "You've just been Punk'd!"

Which is what _I _was waiting for.

But alas, Ashton Kutcher did not show up. Edmund stood, keeping his angry eyes fixed on Caspian who stood his ground.

"I'm not your subject," he said, sounding deadly. I gripped Lucy's arm, ready to make her run if needed.

"You've been waiting for this, haven't you?" Caspian said, sounding on edge. "To challenge me. You doubt my leadership!"

"You doubt yourself!" Edmund yelled, getting in his face. Damn, this was getting intense.

"You're a child!" Caspian snapped.

"And you're a spineless sap!"

"Edmund!" Forgetting my plan to tell Lucy to get out, she and I both ran forward to try and pull him away, but he carelessly shoved us aside.

"I'm tired of playing second fiddle!" he snarled.

I gave him a disapproving look. "That's the best comparison you could come up with?"

Lucy shot me a this-isn't-the-time look and I shut up. I still could have come up with something waaaay better.

Edmund was completely lost in a fit of rage. "First it was Peter, and now it's you. You know I'm braver than both of you. Why do _you_ get Peter's sword? Why are _you _telling me what I can and can't do with Rose?"

My eyes widened. "Whoa, guys, leave me out of this!"

"She's _mine_! I deserve a kingdom of my own!" he shouted. "I deserve to rule!

"If you think you're so brave," Caspian said venomously, "prove it!" With that, he shoved Edmund who let out a yell and yanked his sword out. I pushed Lucy back and out of the way, shielding her, as they began to duel.

"In case you haven't noticed!" I yelled over the sound of their swords clanging. "Let me be the first to inform you that you've both gone bat shit crazy!"

"No!" Lucy pushed past me and jumped in between. I shrieked and ran to her, thinking she was going to get sliced in half. Thankfully, they stopped and watched her, though they both had their swords out and ready to resume battle given the opportunity.

"Stop it!" she commanded, making even _me _jump. "Both of you!"

"Look at yourselves," she continued, sounding as disgusted as I felt. "Can't you see what's happening?"

"They're being stupid, greedy, pathetic excuses for men?" I suggested, shooting them both dirty looks.

"This place has tempted you," she said, sounding close to tears. "It's bewitching you."

The two men looked from her to each other, as if not sure what to believe anymore. I could faintly see their real selves starting to break through.

Lucy stared them both down even harder, if possible. "This is exactly what Coriakin was talking about. Let's just get out of here."

She stormed off, leaving me standing awkwardly in between Edmund and Caspian.

Unable to keep the venom in my voice from slipping, I snapped, "Maybe next time you can try not to put either of us in harm's way while you're in your crazy power struggle." I laughed without humor. "But hey, who am I to talk? You're the kings, right?"

Caspian said nothing, but merely started to follow Lucy.

Edmund looked down at the shell in his hands and then back to me, his face a mix between confusion and fear.

"Put it down, Ed," I said softly. "It's not worth it."

He looked at the golden shell once more, before throwing it into the water. The both of us watched as it sunk to the bottom, Ed's crazy side with it.

I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. "Thanks." I started to walk before I stopped and looked back at him.

"By the way," I said, feeling anger seep into my voice. "You may be a king, but I am _not_ something for you to own." With that, I walked away to follow Caspian and Lucy.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19. **

Leaving that cave was a relief. It had felt wrong from the very start and I was eager to get out of there as soon as possible. Somehow, I managed to climb back up the rope without difficulties other than it taking forever. But hey, I learned that I lacked quite a bit of upper body strength. I was certain that by the time I got to the top they'd all have left without me.

To my surprise they were waiting patiently for me at the top.

"Sorry, guys," I mumbled as I clumsily scrambled out of the pit. "Thanks for waiting."

Without any trace of emotion, Caspian and Edmund simultaneously nodded. Lucy smiled, saying, "Of course."

I couldn't help but be in awe of her. Even when she was pissed beyond belief she found kindness in her heart. I truly understood how she was a queen, despite being so young. The way she snapped two bewitched men that were ready to kill each other back to reality and how she never backed down was so inspiring. Respect and loyalty gushed up inside me for her. I wasn't sure how Narnia could ever get along without her. I wasn't sure how _I_ could get along without her wisdom and courage to keep me on my feet.

Then there's these assholes. Really not wanting to even look at either man at the moment, I linked my arm through Lucy's as we silently made our way back to the rowboats and the crew. When we reached them, there were several baskets spread out.

"What food did you find?" Caspian asked, frowning as we neared. The baskets were practically empty.

Rhince crouched over them as if to advertise what they'd found.

"It's volcanic, your Majesty," he explained. "Not much grows."

. . . Fantastic.

"This place is a natural disaster waiting to happen," I commented, observing the area uneasily. The sooner we got away, the better.

"Where's Eustace?" Lucy asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"Oh, God," I said snickering. "Speaking of natural disasters."

"I believe he's out, not helping us load the boats." I looked behind me to see Reep standing on the edge of the rowboat.

"Eustace!" Lucy called, growing steadily more and more worried. "Eustace!"

All she got in response was the sound of steam hissing from the holes in the ground nearby.

I noticed Edmund had come up to stand next to me to watch his sister.

"Edmund," she said to him worriedly. "I've got a bad feeling."

I sighed. "Yeah, me too," I admitted. Even leaving the cave hadn't done anything to squash the horrible feeling bubbling up inside me.

"I'll go find him," Edmund promised seriously.

"I'll come with you," Caspian agreed. Edmund eyed him warily, but didn't argue. Caspian handed Lucy our newest "lord sword" and followed Edmund.

"Not without me you're not," I protested. They both stopped mid-step and slowly turned to look at me. I didn't really feel like staying behind . . . and _someone_ had to keep those kids in control.

Before they could say no, I quickly said, "Look, if anyone is gonna hurt the kid, it's going to be _me. _So I'm searching for him, whether it's with you two or—"I put extra emphasis on this part "—_by myself_."

That did the trick. The pair exchanged a look, and nodded hurriedly.

"Do you have a sword?" Caspian asked me.

I blinked. Shit, now they really were going to leave me behind. "Uh . . . right. Well, you see—"

"Rhince!" Caspian called. "Can you let Rose borrow your sword?"

Immediately, Rhince came up and presented me his own sword.

"Thank you," I told him gratefully. "I'll take good care of it."

I tucked it away in my belt and with that, Caspian, Edmund, and I took off to go find Eustace.

We hiked up the mountain trail, all of us calling for the kid. So far there wasn't a single sign of him.

I nearly ran into them when they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.

"What, what is it—ohh!" To our right, was a long passageway, the ground completely covered in various objects made of solid gold, like some kind of river.

"Treasure," Edmund said, dejectedly.

"Trouble," Caspian corrected him.

"We're so screwed," I agreed unhelpfully.

Edmund's eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked closely at an object that seemed to have smoke rising from in. We immediately ran down to investigate.

It was Eustace's shoe.

I shook my head. There had to be another explanation.

"Eustace," Edmund said, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Edmund's gaze moved around and he walked forward, with me right on his heels.

Laying on the ground, was a singed, smoking mess. My hand flew to my mouth as I felt my eyes prickle. No, no, no . . .

"No!" Edmund dropped to his knees and began searching through the items. Caspian followed suit. I felt too numb to even move a finger. I just stared in horror as they looked.

Edmund picked up what was clearly Eustace's diary. "Oh, cousin," he whispered, stricken.

This couldn't be happening—it just couldn't. Tears filled my eyes, making my vision blurry. I quickly blinked them away. I had to be strong for Edmund.

"I'm sorry," Caspian said, looking almost like he couldn't even comprehend the situation.

"He was just a boy," Ed said in disbelief. "I never should have left him."

Unable to find the right words to comfort him, I got on my knees next to him and put an arm around him, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Oh, Edmund. I'm so sorry," I whispered, trying not to choke on my words.

"What could have happened to him?" he asked, sounding almost as if he were in denial about the situation.

Caspian glanced behind us. "In this place? Anything." He rose to his feet and Edmund and I shifted to watch him. "And he wasn't the first." He walked over to a skeleton. "It's Lord Octesian."

My eyes widened. I barely registered Edmund getting up and walking away. This place was a complete and total death trap.

"We should find his—" a _shing_ noise made him pause, and me whip around. Edmund was pulling out a sword from its sheath.

"—sword," Caspian finished.

I stood up and just looked at Edmund, who looked as helpless as I felt. Eustace . . . stupid, arrogant Eustace the child was—

I shook my head. "Eustace can't be—he was just—." I turned away, covering my face with my hands as I struggled to fight the sob that was fighting to break free.

Edmund came over to me and pulled me into his arms. I buried my face in his chest, letting the tears flow freely as my body shook. I clung to him as I cried. He held me just as tightly, maybe even crying too.

It felt like only ten seconds that we stood like that when, in the distance, there was a loud, deafening roar. We both jumped apart and whipped out our swords, Caspian doing the same.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded as we grouped together, circling around to look.

"I think I might have a guess!" Caspian said, his eyes whipping around the area in search of the source of the noise. "We should get out of here." Another roar came, this time even louder.

"Noo, I thought we'd stay here and offer ourselves as a freaking flambé!" I yelled at him as he took off running in the direction we'd come.

"Let's get back to the ship!" Edmund shouted, grabbing my hand as we ran after Caspian.

We were approaching the shore, the Dawn Treader not far in the distance. We could easily swim—why did it sound like a gigantic bird was coming up from behind us?

"Edmund, Rose!"

We barely had time to turn around before a gigantic, ginger colored dragon grabbed the two of us with its incredible sized claws, lifting us off of the ground. I was too stunned to even scream. Terrified, I looked up at it. It had long, gawky legs and its scales were rough against my skin. The dragon soared us over the ocean and around the Dawn Treader. Our arms weren't being constricted, but it'd be useless to even attempt escape. So we settled for holding onto each other for our dear life, which was an extremely accurate statement.

Coming to terms with the situation, my eyes grew wider and wider as I stared at the open water below us. Well this is it, folks. He ate Eustace and now he wanted dessert. Well, maybe I'd be the coffee since I'm slightly bitter.

"Edmund! Rose!" Lucy was screaming at the top of her lungs from the upper deck on the ship.

"Lucy!" Ed bellowed as we circled past the ship and back towards the island. Faintly, I could hear the sound of the crew shouting over the rush of the wind in my ear, my long hair flying around so much it felt like a whip against my cheeks.

I wasn't sure what was scarier. The fact that we'd been taken hostage by a ferocious dragon or said dragon dropping us to our death below.

Edmund and I clung to each other, screaming. I swore so badly that it'd put a sailor to shame. Not that any of it would do either of us any good, but it was really our only option at this point.

I could barely take in the island, we were going so fast. Or maybe I was just so scared my vision was all disoriented. Either way, everything seemed like one big, terrifying blur of rocks and mountains.

The dragon flew us through the island at top speed. Eventually, neither of us could do anything except gasp for breath and watch in horror.

Well, if I was going to die I might as well make a confession, right?  
"Edmund!" I said, shouting a little so he could hear me. "I know this is a sucky time to do this, but just in case I have to tell you. I—"

I cut myself off as the dragon's flapping slowed, giving us the chance to see something that nearly killed me from shock.

"Mother of God!" I shrieked.

There, in the middle of a large, black crater, written in flames was three simple words that changed everything,

"I AM EUSTACE".

Edmund and I looked at each other in astonishment. Okay, no, that doesn't even begin to describe the look on either of our faces. My eyes felt like they would roll out of my head and if I were a cartoon my jaw would have clanged the forty feet to the ground. Edmund kept looking up at the dragon and back at the words. Good job, Eustace. He had finally broken his cousin—and possibly me too.

"You have got to be joking," Ed said, horrified.

I strained my head to look up. The dragon—er, Eustace, was slowing down, his face looked solemn, almost self-conscious. Of course even as a dragon he somehow still had facial expressions!

I took a deep breath. "Edmund, cover your ears!"

Before I could give him the chance to do so, I screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

"EUSTACE, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THIS TIME?!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20.**

Telling everyone what had become of Eustace was the highlight of my day. They all FLIPPED out. It was hilarious.

Er . . . I mean it was a dark time for us, a very dark time indeed.

Anyway, Caspian, Lucy, Rhince, Gael, Drinian, Reep, Tavros, Edmund, and I had gathered around Eustace, just staring. I was still having trouble processing that the great beast in front of us was actually the same snotty little brat from a few hours ago. I tried to keep in mind that I did cry when I thought he was dead, but I couldn't stop laughing.

"Alas, poor Eustace," I professed dramatically. "I knew him well."

Eustace let out a growl, making me jump slightly. With his massive teeth, he tried to pry something off his arm. Edmund and I were directly in front of him, making me slightly nervous. What if he sneezed fire or something?

I looked closely at his dragon arm. There was a golden arm band that was quite a bit too small for him, stuck on it.

"He must have been tempted by the treasure," Ed said when Eustace extended his arm to show him the band.

I rolled my eyes. "Go figure. You had one job, Eustace! To stay put!" I looked around. "I vote we all pitch in to buy him a leash of some kind."

Caspian spoke up in response to Edmund's question. "Everyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted."

Eustace shot Caspian a dirty look, narrowing his huge blue eyes and snarled slightly.

"Well," Caspian amended. "Anyone from here."

"I'm not from here and I'm not that stupid," I pointed out. I couldn't help but smirk at Eustace. "Karma's a bitch, kid."

I received a very rude sounding snarl, which made me jump back a couple steps, grabbing onto Edmund's shoulders from behind, using him as a human shield.

I chuckled nervously. "I'm just kidding." I paused and for good measure threw in, "_Handsome._"

Eustace rolled his eyes at me. Yep, even as a dragon not much has changed.

I let go of Edmund and stepped around him back to my original place. Now that our lives weren't in danger, I wasn't feeling very friendly towards him. The image of him looking at me as if I were an_ item _kept popping in my mind. I was scared if I looked in his eyes, the Edmund I truly cared for would be replaced by the bewitched one with crazy eyes.

I thought back to when we were being carried by the dragon—er, by Eustace. I almost told him how I felt . . . I shook my head slightly to clear it. Now wasn't the time to be focused on him.

My eyes went back down to the cuff on Eustace's thick, scaly arm, which looked painful as it dug into his rough skin. I gave him a sympathetic look, all jokes aside.

Lucy slowly walked up to Eustace, who watched her warily. When she reached her arms out for him, he immediately held his arm out. Quick as a wink, she pulled the gold band off. He roared in pain and shook his arm hastily. Even as a dragon he was still whiny.

Lucy, grinning at him, reassured that the same Eustace was still in there, walked away carrying the cuff.

"Is there any way to change him back?" Edmund asked Caspian.

"Not that I know of," he said unhelpfully, looking to Drinian for an answer who shook his head slightly.

"I hear plastic surgery does wonders," I commented. "Though his nose might be a little fake looking." I received odd looks from everyone and Eustace gave a low growl.

"Aunt Alberta will not be pleased," Edmund said solemnly. Eustace gave an indignant huff.

Despite myself, I burst out laughing. "No, no, it'll be fine. Having your son become a dragon is every mother's dream. Though I hear the housework is a real pain in the ass."

Lucy giggled and Rhince covered Gael's ears.

"Sorry," I apologized to them. "I don't have a filter."

"Sorry about the hand, old boy," Reep said, speaking up for the first time. "I can be a little overzealous at times."

I raised my eyebrows but didn't say anything. I wondered what he did to his hand . . .

"The boats are ready, Sire," Tavros called in his deep voice as he stood on the shore.

"We can't leave him alone," Lucy objected.

I agreed. "Yeah, you wouldn't believe what happened last time we did. He got turned into a dragon."

"Well, we can't bring him on board, Your Majesty," Drinian replied dryly, ignoring my jab.

"Well, if we leave him he could bite off his tail by accident or something!" I protested. "Then if we find a cure he'll become human and won't have a—"

Caspian quickly cut me off, coming up behind me and putting a hand over my mouth. "Drinian, you and the others take one boat back. The rest of us will stay here till morning and . . ." he paused as I struggled to pry his hand off, screeching the whole time. "Work out what to do."

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I licked his hand and he yelped, yanking it away.

"You licked me!" he said angrily.

"Well it was no picnic for me either, Your Highness," I muttered darkly, stomping back to Eustace and Edmund, who was grinning.

"Shut up," I snapped.

"I didn't say anything!" he protested, trying to hide his laughter.

"You were definitely thinking it though."

Rhince interrupted us. "But you've no provisions," he pointed out. "And no means of staying warm, Your Majesty."

That stumped us for a whole three and a half seconds until suddenly a huge gush of fire shot out of Eustace's mouth on a thick piece of wood lying on the ground. We now had a nice, toasty fire.

"You were saying?" Reep said, sounding proud.

We all laughed, the tension easing slightly. Eustace smacked his dragon lips awkwardly, as if the fire had tasted weird.

I snorted and patted his thick, scaly arm. "There's nothing like the taste of throwing up a bonfire, eh? Try and cough up some marshmallows too next time though."

Eustace made an annoyed face at me, which was ten times funnier in dragon form.

I sighed. "You know, I always thought being a dragon meant you had a better sense of humor but obviously I've been disappointed. I wish you became a hyena, then you'd have no choice but to laugh at me."

Eustace growled, looking alarmed at the very thought.

***  
That night, everyone was curled up by the fire, laying down getting ready for bed. Caspian and Edmund were talking as well as Lucy and Gael. Reep was snuggled up close to the fire and Eustace was doing the same.

I, however, was sitting down by the water freezing my butt off. My mind was too active to even think about sleeping, and conversing with anyone wasn't on my list of things to do.

I watched the waves as they crashed onto the shore, thankfully I was far away enough that I wouldn't get wet. In the distance, I could see the dark shape of the Dawn Treader.

I laid on my back and stared up at the stars, which looked breathtakingly beautiful. The constellations were clear as a bell. I stayed like that for a while, listening as the talking died down and then stopped completely. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the ocean, letting it lull me.

"You're going to get hypothermia like this."

I shot up, whipping my head around to look behind me. Edmund was walking down towards me.

"You scared me!" I accused, attempting to slow my breathing as he sat down next to me.

"Not my fault you startle easy," he said with a smirk.

". . . Ugh. Fair enough. So what are you doing? I thought you were asleep."

"I couldn't," he admitted. "Not until we talked."

I moved my eyes downcast. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Rose, don't you dare be like that," he said, sounding frustrated. "I wasn't in my right state of mind, you know that."

"I know," I agreed. "But how do I know that that's not how you really think of me?"  
He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Like I'm something you can buy and own," I said softly. "Something for you to control."

"I could never think that!" he said angrily.

"There's no way for me to know that," I snapped. "What if once you have me or whatever you decide you're tired of me and then just leave me for good?"

He stared at me, his mouth parted, looking as if he couldn't even begin to describe what he was thinking.

He did though. "I care about you so much it . . ." he stopped, trying to find the right words. "It feels like I'm not truly alive unless I'm with you. When you're upset, all I want to do is make you smile, if someone hurts you I want to hurt them and then hold you until the pain goes away. When you laugh it's like I can never feel any ounce of sadness or anger ever again." He took a deep breath. "And I know you care about me just as much."

I opened my mouth and closed it, unable to answer.

Damn it . . . he wasn't making this easy for me.

"You care too much to stay angry at me," he continued. "Or to not trust me anymore."

"You don't know that," I protested through gritted teeth.

"What were you gonna say to me earlier?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Warning bells went off in my head. Play it cool. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Right before Eustace showed us who he was, you wanted to tell me something. What was it?"

Mayday, mayday, abort mission, ABORT MISSION!

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said coolly. Damn I was smooth.

Yes you do!" he insisted furiously. Never mind, I wasn't at all smooth. "Damn it, Rose, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No I don't," I mumbled, pulling my legs up to my chest and resting my head on my knees.

"Rose," he said, his voice so soft my legs felt like they'd turned to jelly.

Don't break, don't break, don't break.

He shifted so that he was sitting directly in front of me. I lifted my head up and met his eyes. He looked calm.

"Rose, tell me how you really feel."

The way he spoke to me . . . the caress in his voice.

"Please, Rosie."

Oh damn it all to hell and back!

"I'm in love with you!" I burst out. "There, happy?"

He stared at me, his face devoid of any emotion.

"I am in love with you, and I hate it! I have no control over it and I do _not_ want to get hurt."

Still no response.

I smacked the ground with my hands. "Stop staring at me with those eyes!" I hissed. "It burns!"

I laid down with an exasperated sigh and covered my face with my hands. I wanted to dive into the ocean and not come up.

I felt something hovering over me so I slowly removed my hands to see Edmund moving on top of me, his hands on either side of my head.

"Finally," he whispered, a smile on his face. "I thought I'd be here all night."

I opened my mouth to attempt to defend myself when he cut me off, kissing me with a surprising amount of force. It threw me off completely. My eyes widened and my heart felt like it would fly out of my chest and into his.

After three seconds of trying to recover from the shock, my arms went around his neck and I pulled him down on top of me, kissing him back. His hands went down to my waist and he held me tightly as I wrapped my legs around his. His mouth moved against mine, more urgently than any other time we'd kiss. It was _amazing_. I slid one hand into his hair and my other wandered down to his chest.

Then a thought occurred to me. I took my hands and gripped his shoulders, reluctantly pulling my lips away.

He made an indignant noise, which I ignored.

"What does this mean?" I asked him breathlessly.

"What does what mean?" he probed, also out of breath. He gently brushed a lock of hair out of my face.

I raised my eyebrows. "So do you feel the same way or . . .?"

"Of course I do!" he said as if there wasn't even a question.

"I gotta hear you say it," I insisted.

He sighed, though he was grinning. "Rose," he began. "I love you."

"Finally," I teased, hoping my heart wouldn't jump out of my chest. He kissed me again, this time slowly, drawing it out more.

This time, he pulled away. "Okay, you're freezing. Let's go back."

I made a face but didn't argue. My body felt numb and it was getting to where I could see my breath.

To our surprise, Reep was talking to Eustace. He was speaking so quietly I could barely hear. Eustace lifted his head up look at us and I smiled at him. He shifted his eyes and laid his head back down, listening to Reep once again. I thought I heard something about pirates.

Edmund set up his thin blanket and we laid down on it. I practically curled up on top of him, my head on his chest with my arm around his neck. I had my leg slung over his. He held me tightly with his arms around my waist.

The last thing I heard before I drifted off into a comfortable, dreamless sleep was Edmund's steady heartbeat.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Review, review, review, everyone! Come on, look at me, updating twice in one day.**

**Wow that's gotta be either awesome or annoying for you guys. Sorry—I love writing and when I have free time, like I've had A LOT of lately, I get a good chunk of it done.**

**Anyways, I'm hoping to post maybe a one or two chapters tomorrow, which is Thursday for me, because I have off all day and I doubt I'll be able to post again until Sunday, maybe Monday, because it turns out I actually have a life O.O**

**So yeah, enjoy!**

**Chapter 21.**

I was lying very comfortably in Edmund's arms, despite the rock I was laying on that was giving me a bruise. Half asleep, I shifted slightly so that I wasn't on it anymore.

I'd just started to fall back asleep when I heard someone yell, "Everybody!"

I jumped slightly. Ugh, go back to bed, Lucy.

"Everybody, wake up!"

"No, thank you," I muttered, snuggling closer to Edmund as I felt him begin to stir. "I would prefer to sleep."

"It's the blue star!"

My eyes flew wide open and Edmund and I both sat up, looking up at the sky. I exhaled sharply.

She was right. There, in the middle of the early morning sky, was a bright, blue star. It looked gorgeous surrounded by the pink and blue flecks of sunrise. I heard exclamations and excited murmuring from everyone. I looked around and saw that Reep had barely gotten Eustace to wake up. I couldn't tell if he was excited by the star or not. I sighed. I hoped we'd find a cure for him. Even he didn't deserve to spend the rest of his life as a dragon that looked as if it hadn't gone through puberty yet. No one could ever doubt it was Eustace.

Everyone began getting up and talking about getting back to the ship immediately. Well, there goes the sweet dream of getting a good, long night's sleep. Groggily, I got to my feet and stretched, practically cracking every bone in my body.

"Sleep well?" Ed asked me as he stood up.

"Pretty good," I said, smiling. "And you?"

"Fantastic."

Despite the uncomfortable, hard ground, being held by him did wonders, especially after last night. The thought of our confessions for each other and how heated things got between us made me blush.

I turned away so he wouldn't see, though with how he was grinning I'm pretty sure he saw.

With the crew all awake, everything erupted into one big, excited ball of chaos. Everyone was running around like crazy, gathering up our belongings and such.

Some of us ran to the rowboats and began to load them so we could get back to the ship as soon as possible and follow the star before it disappeared or something.

Ah, hell, that would suck so badly! I could just see it now. We board the ship proudly, ready to kick some ass, then it disappears soon as our feet touches the deck.

Well, not all of us will be on the ship. I glanced back at the exhausted looking dragon.

"Eustace is flying, I suppose?" I questioned the two kings as I stuffed a bundle of blankets in the back of the boat.

Caspian and Edmund looked at each other then back at Eustace, who was looking more awkward than ever in his dragon body.

"I guess," Caspian agreed, not looking particularly concerned.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," I said, exchanging a look with Edmund. "He's not very good at it."

"We don't have any other choice," Caspian pointed out as Reep scampered down off of the rowboat.

"I'll stay with the lad," Reep volunteered cheerfully. "I can direct him."

In the end they agreed with that plan and Reep went off to Eustace. A mouse helping a dragon fly. Ohh boy.

"Don't worry, guys," I said sarcastically as Caspian ran up to go inform the crew we were ready to go. "There's absolutely no possible way that this can go wrong."

"Don't be so negative," Lucy chided me, looking more cheerful than I'd seen her in a long time.

I chuckled. "Sorry, Lu. It's part of my job description as a crew member, you know."

"If we had known that we'd have left you in the water when we found you," Edmund teased, just as we finished putting the last of our things into the rowboat.

"Admit it, you couldn't resist the power of my bikini," I said slyly.

"Well, haven't you got me figured out?" he said mockingly.

"Whatever happened to your bathing suit, anyway?" Lucy interrupted curiously.

With a grin, I pulled up my shirt to reveal it just as Caspian came back down. The look on his face was priceless.

"One day you'll need someone to swim," I said gravely. "And no one is going to want to get their clothes wet, but then I will step forward, rip off my clothes and save all your lives."

Caspian stared at me as if I belonged in an insane asylum.

"It'll happen," I said defensively. "You're welcome, in advance. No thanks necessary."

He shook his head slowly and looked at Ed. "Wow . . . you lucky bastard, you."

. . . Needless to stay, it took a while for Edmund and Lucy to stop laughing. Royalty and their cruelness towards peasants these days was astounding.

Once the crew gathered together in the boats, we hastily rowed back to the Dawn Treader. I hadn't even properly woken up yet and we were on the move, racing towards the star that had finally decided to reveal itself to us. At least it hadn't disappeared. Let's just hope it stays that way.

Leaving the crew to do all of the work without feeling the slightest trace of guilt, Lucy and I went to our room and cleaned ourselves up and changed into fresh clothes. Once we did that, we went out onto our balcony and watched as the island from hell become smaller and smaller.

"I'm not sorry to be leaving it behind," I said quietly, thinking of all the shit it'd put us through yesterday.

"Me either," she agreed. "I don't even want to begin to imagine how it can get any worse than what happened to the boys." She paused. "All three of them."

"Don't jinx us," I warned her, eyes wide. "We could be next to go insane or change into a dragon."

She smiled apprehensively. "I really hope not."

"Smack me if I get out of line," I suggested. "It's okay, I can take it."

She giggled. "Alright."

We looked back out to the ocean just as a water figure shaped like a woman rose. She seemed to be waving at us. Lucy and I laughed.

"I'll never get used to the creatures here," I said amazed. "It's all so breathtaking."

Smiling, Lucy opened her mouth to respond but stopped, her face going serious.

"What's wrong?" I questioned.

"Look," she said softly.

I looked back at the water woman and frowned. She wasn't waving hello to us, she was waving her arms wildly, as if afraid, and mouthing something I couldn't understand. "No", maybe?

Lucy and I looked at each other confused as she disappeared back into the water.

"What just happened?" Lucy asked slowly, staring at where the woman had disappeared.

"I think she was trying to warn us of something," I said grimly.

"What though?" she wondered.

I shrugged. "Who knows?"

Trying to push it out of our minds, we went back into our room to see Gael waiting for us, patiently.

"There you are," she said happily, holding a hairbrush. "I have a bad knot in my hair and it hurts."

"I'll get it," I assured her, taking the brush. I gently brushed through her hair, getting out the snarls and making it neater. When I got to the knot, my jaw dropped. It was only a little smaller than my fist. That's what we get for sleeping on the ground, I guess.

"Geez, Gael, you weren't kidding!" I worked on it for a good ten minutes, trying to get out. The poor thing was wincing with every stroke of the brush, though I tried to be as gentle as possible.

I was this close to getting in when suddenly the boat lurched, sending the three of harshly down to the floor.

"Damn it, what the hell was that?" I said through gritted teeth, forgetting once again I was in the presence of a child.

"Ow," Gael whimpered. I glanced down at my brush and my eyes widened. Oh shit.

"Well . . . I got the knot," I said sheepishly, chucking the brush behind me as hard as I could.

The sound of cheers from the deck made me and Lucy raise our eyebrows curiously at each other. The three of us got to our feet and dashed out of the room to the deck to find something that I definitely wasn't expecting—not even in my wildest dreams.

Eustace had wrapped his tail around the very front of the ship and was now pulling us.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was hallucinating. Leaving the two girls behind, I went to find Edmund.

"What's going on?" I asked as I approached him.

"Eustace is helping us," he said, looking as surprised as I felt. "This way we're hopefully going to get there much faster."

My stomach growled just then. "Good or I might have eaten him."

"You and the rest of the crew," he said with a sigh, looking around at the men who were now going back to work.

"He'd have tasted weird anyway," I said, wrinkling my nose. "I bet I'd have gotten food poisoning."

Unable to help myself I stepped closer and teasingly trailed a finger down his chest. "You on the other hand . . ."

He swallowed, staring at my hand wide-eyed before looking back up at me.

"It's a good thing it doesn't run in the family," I whispered before I pressed my lips to his.

Before we could even really get into it, Caspian walked by and playfully shoved Ed.

"No kissing on deck," he said mockingly disapproving.

"Since when do I listen to rules?" I said, throwing my hands, exasperated at his faith in me. Of course, I was ignored.

"Don't listen to him," Ed assured me, trying to pull me back into his arms.

My eyes lit up with an idea. "No, no, he's right. Let's just go on his hammock for a while and wait until the middle of the night to tell him we borrowed it."

He laughed. "Tempting, but, uh, after yesterday I better not push it."

I made a sympathetic face. Since the moment he said he loved me, I'd forgiven him, but I certainly hadn't forgotten about it.

"How's that going?" I asked him, lacing my fingers through his. "Are you two okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Did you talk about it?" I pressed him.

"No," he said, giving me a weird look.

I rolled my eyes. "Men."

He shrugged, looking "innocent".

"Anyway, I don't even want to think about how much worse this is going to get." I shuddered.

He wrinkled his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

I snorted. "Let's see, we haven't even made it to the dark island yet and we've almost been torn apart, your cousin turned into a dragon, and pretty boy came to the realization that he could get ugly someday. Though that last part was admittedly my fault."

"Good point," he said, trying to keep from laughing.

I looked up at the blue star. "I just hope this isn't a trap," I said with a sigh, thinking of the water creature who had truly seemed to be telling us something important.

"Of course it is," he said lightly. "Which is why we're going there."

I blinked. ". . . Yeah, what the hell, who needs logic, anyways?"

"Nothing is going to harm you, Rose. Not with me there."

I smiled slightly. "I can take care of myself, you know."

He smirked. "I've seen you use a sword, so I may have to disagree with that."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and kiss me before I go be a bother to someone else."

He chuckled and obliged my request, the both of us ignoring the teasing from the crew members.

If anyone tried to hurt any of these people, I'd kill a bitch. Magical mist or not.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

With the help of Eustace, we were approaching the island of Ramandu by evening. The island looked just as mysterious and daunting as the map depicted. The sounds of birds screeching could be heard; it sounded just like a jungle. Small waterfalls poured from the mountain of island and into the ocean. It looked beautiful, but I, as well as the others, certainly weren't fooled by its raw beauty.

Once we were close enough, we all got onto the rowboats and set off while Eustace and Reep were flying overhead. I sat next to Lucy in our usual perch at the very front with Caspian and Edmund sitting in front of us, rowing.

"So I've been trying out this whole "positive" thing," I told Lucy. "And I think I've got it."

"Oh?" she said, looking amused. "And what have you come up with?"

I clasped my hands together. "Well, even though we're going to an island where nightmares lurk at every corner and death is waiting to show its big, ugly face so it can rip us all to pieces, or drown us, or maybe just giving us a case of good old-fashioned mental insanity maybe, just maybe, it won't be painful!"

She stared at me incredulously, as did everyone in hearing distance. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who heard a cricket chirping.

"Nothing like a bit of optimism to keep you going," Caspian commented dryly, breaking the silence.

"That's the Narnian spirit!" I agreed cheerfully. "Go team!"

I looked up at the sky and sighed. Of course we couldn't arrive here during the day, it had to be at night.

Sure enough, when we made it onto the shores of the island, I understood the nickname "Dark Island" perfectly. The night sky was nearly black, and it was getting colder. Every time I saw a shadow I nearly jumped, thinking it was some kind of monster or something.

As the crew got themselves together to get ready to go exploring the creepy island, I stood by Edmund, shivering.

"How are we going to be able to see anything?" I asked, looking around worriedly. If we went stumbling through this place blindly, whatever dark thing lurked here would probably laugh at us for it.

His eyes widened. "Oh, right!" He walked back to the rowboat we'd been on and I followed him curiously. He reached in and pulled out the answer to my question.

"You have a FLASHLIGHT?" I gasped, gaping at it like it was a priceless artifact.

He grinned. "Yeah, I left it last time I was here."

"Can . . . can I hold it?"

Looking amused, he held it out to me. I eagerly took it and stared at it in wonder.

"Modern technology!" I said gleefully as if it were a long lost friend. I paused for a moment, considering what I just said. "Well, close enough. Can I use it?"

Unfortunately, I chose that moment to try and flip it in my hand. Instead of catching it, I hit myself in the face and dropped it.

"Damn it," I groaned, blinking rapidly to regain focus. "Yeaaaah. Maybe you should lead."

"Probably," he agreed, picking the flashlight up off the ground.

"But I'm staying with you," I warned him, lacing my fingers through his. "I like to see what happens before anyone else."

"Whatever you say," Edmund said with a smirk.

I stepped closer and kissed him softly. His lips felt soft and tender against mine as we kissed slowly, making it last before I finally tore my lips away.

"Scared we won't have a chance to do that for a while?" he asked me, tucking a lock of hair behind me ear.

"Well there's that . . . and I wanted to wipe the knowing smirk off your face."

He laughed and kissed me again, this time quickly. "Don't worry; I would have made you stay with me even if you hadn't wanted to."

I grinned mischievously. "Well, you a_re _a king. Technically I'm supposed to do whatever you say."

Intrigue spread across his face, but I cut him off before he got too excited. "I said I'm supposedto, doesn't mean I will." I winked and walked away, ignoring Edmund's muttering about being a "bloody tease". Oh, how that nickname never gets old.

I walked over to Eustace, who was looking as uncomfortable as ever.

"Great flying, kid," I greeted him. He made an annoyed sort of snort.

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't call you that," I said with a grin. "But it's better than calling you dragon or giant flying lizard, right?"

He growled slightly, looking slightly put out and I sighed dramatically. "Or, I _suppose_, I could call you Eustace."

His face softened and I smiled. "See? Doesn't it feel better not to be glaring at everyone all the time?" I reached over and patted his claw-like hand. "I still have faith in you, Eustace," I said softly. I chuckled when he let out a surprised sounding huff. "Yes, even after you basically called me Edmund's whore, who I love by the way." I grinned and heartedly punched his rough, scaly shoulder. "Who knows, you could be my in-law one day, cousin!"

He roared and scrambled back, tripping over his own long spikey tail as he looked at me, horrified.

Heh, I've still got it.

"Rose!" Caspian called. I left a traumatized Eustace to go see what his royal Highness wanted.

"What's up?" I asked him brightly.

"I have an extra sword you can have," he said, pulling out a simple, yet sharp looking sword from its sheath to show it to me. "I figured after all the lessons with Edmund and everything you've earned one." He slid it back in its case and handed it to me.

My jaw dropped as I took it from him. "Wow, Caspian, I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll be careful," he said, grinning.

"I will," I promised, tucking the sheath away in my belt.

He nodded approvingly and clapped me on the shoulder before he left to gather the crew. In that moment, I'm pretty sure I had completely earned Caspian's trust, which felt good. It felt even better knowing I didn't have to borrow any more swords.

By the time we got moving to explore, the moon was high and the sky was dark. Everything looked beautiful and deadly, as if it were the beginning of a nightmare that had started as a dream.

The only sounds to be heard was the crunching of leaves and twigs underneath our feet as well as the chittering, chirping, and squawking of animals. None of us spoke. I suspect everyone was afraid whether they wanted to admit it or not. After walking a good bit through the creepy forest, we came across a stone bridge with statues of creepy looking animals lined up on the sides. Edmund was leading our group with his flashlight in one hand, and my hand holding his other tightly.

At the end of the bridge, there was a sort of arch from trees that had intertwined together. Through it, I could see some sort of long table.

"Why do I get the feeling this is a scene out of a bad horror movie?" I whispered as we got close enough to examine it. As we walked, Edmund shone his light on it. There was candles, dead flowers, and food that looked to me to be fake. The table was set with plates and silverware, enough probably for a dozen people.

I could practically _feel_ the ominous music playing in the background.

We walked alongside the table, examining it closely for any sort of clue.

"Mmm," I heard Tavros gruff voice say. I looked over at the dazed Minotaur. "Food." He started to walk towards the table, a hungry look in his eye.

"Wait," Drinian said, stopping him before I did, which was a good thing, considering my way involved tackling him which really wouldn't have ended well for anyone. Despite how hungry I was, this whole setup practically screamed to be a trap.

Tavros looked disappointed, but didn't protest.

My hand was shaky as it clung to Edmund's, who kept squeezing it in reassurance and using his thumb to stroke it. It didn't distract me from the fact that something wasn't right.

Then, at the very end of the table I saw lumps of thorns and tree vines in three separate piles. Weird. I wondered how they formed like that. Clearly thinking along the same lines, Ed shined his light on them, and I felt my heart stop as I jumped, as did everyone else. "Holy shit!" I hissed, trying not to scream.

Encased in the mess of thrones and vines, were three old men who appeared to be dead. Their eyes were closed and their skin was pale as can be.

Everyone wrenched out their swords and I immediately followed, expecting them to come back as zombies at any moment and attack.

Cautiously, Edmund and I edged forward to examine the man closest to us. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful.

"Lord Revilian," Caspian said, pointing his sword at a man near him from the other side of the table. He moved on to the next man.

"Lord Mavramorn," he stated as one by one everyone began to put their swords away, seeing that these men were no danger to us.

"Lord Argoz," he continued. Note to self; never become a lord. It will lead to complete doom.

I looked over at Lucy who was moving the long, white hair out of the face of one man, whose eyes were wide open. She let out a yelp and jumped back.

"What's the matter?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"He's breathing," Caspian said, looking baffled as he leaned in for a better look. I stared at the men Edmund and I were closest to, and sure enough, I could see the faint, but steady, movement of their chests rising up and down.

"So are they," Edmund said, shining his light on one of the lords. "They're under a spell."

I let out a shaky breath. "I wonder how this happened."

"It's the food!" Caspian suddenly yelled, making me nearly jump out of my skin.

"We're right here, bro," I told him, trying to control my breathing. "No need to yell. Besides, I think we're all a little smarter than to—"

I cut myself off as I heard the clanging of the food dropping back down onto the table.

"Oh, come on guys!" I said in exasperation. "You suck!"

They all looked at one another, looking slightly ashamed. I know we were all starving, but even I knew not to eat strange food that had had been laid out by a stranger who clearly didn't like guests being awake for dinner.

"Hey, it's the stone knife," Edmund said, pointing his flashlight at a knife on the table. "This is Aslan's table."

The talking lion got his own table? Sweet.

"Their swords!" Caspian practically dove into the vines to get one out. Edmund reached for one near us and dug through the vines to pull it out. Oh yeah, weren't we supposed to arrange all of the swords on the table or something?

"On the table," Caspian said eagerly. Yep, we were.

Caspian and Edmund began pulling out and placing the swords on the table and Lucy placed one as well.

"Very fancy looking," I said approvingly.

"That's six," Edmund said, looking slightly discouraged.

"Still missing one," Caspian said uneasily.

"Glad we're all on top of things," I said sarcastically.

Suddenly, the swords began to glow a bright blue, looking wild and creepy.

"Is this a good thing?" I demanded, staring at it wide-eyed,

"I'm not entirely sure," Edmund answered, also looking freaked out.

"Then why does it look so disproportionately epic?!"

"Look!" Lucy said, looking up at the sky. The blue star we had been following seemed to be getting bigger and brighter. I squinted. No, wait, scratch that, it was getting closer. The intensity of it made me blink rapidly as it lit up the whole area, making it actually possible to see details without Edmund's flashlight. Everyone looked pale, amazed, and slightly frightened as the "star", which really looked like a big, glowing orb got closer and closer to the ground.

I couldn't look away. I felt like a bug drawn to a light bulb or something equally discreditable.

When it was only a few feet off the ground, the glowing swirled around until it transformed into an extremely pale, beautiful woman with long blonde hair.

The woman spoke, her voice sounding melodic and enchanting. "Travelers of Narnia, welcome."

Never mind the fact that she was a blue orb two seconds ago, all of the men immediately bowed, looking at her as if she were a goddess or something.

Edmund didn't bow, at least. Just stared, looking slightly confused.

"Arise," the woman said and I snickered quietly. Pretty sure they already had, if you know what I mean.

The men slowly got to their feet and she smiled brightly.

"Are you not hungry?" she asked charmingly.

"Who are you?" Edmund asked her, dumbstruck. I scowled at him.

"I'm Liliandil," she replied, "daughter of Ramandu. I am your guide."

Oh okay, that's good. See you in hell, crazy blonde.

Caspian, Lucy, Edmund and I began to walk towards her, deciding she wasn't a threat—yet.

"You're a star?" Caspian guessed. Beaming, she nodded.

"You are most beautiful," Caspian told her, looking like a lovesick puppy.

"Very subtle, Pretty Boy," I said, rolling my eyes.

She looked concerned. "I-If it is a distraction for you, I-I can change form."

"No!" Edmund and Caspian said in unison, as I said, "Yes!"

"Gag me with a shovel," I muttered, exchanging a look with Lucy who seemed to find this woman as annoying as I did.

For good measure, I wrapped my arms around Edmund's arm and laid my head against his shoulder, which seemed to snap him out of it. He enfolded me into his arms and held me close as we watched her.

"Please," Liliandil said. "The food is for you." A light shone down on the table, making the food look like heaven was shining upon it. Hello, cue the Hallelujah chorus. "There is enough for all who are welcome at Aslan's table. Always. Help yourselves."

To my horror, all of the men began to reach out for the table.

"No!" I shouted at the same time Edmund said, "Wait!"

That's my boy.

"What happened to them?" he asked, indicating the petrified lords.

She looked sad. "These poor men were half-mad by the time they reached our shores. They were threatening violence upon each other."

I wanted to threaten violence upon her.

"Violence is forbidden at the table of Aslan," she continued. "So they were sent to sleep."

I blinked. "Now _that's_ cold. You're a meeaaaan little blondie."

The woman looked at me, her beautiful face confused by my words. Did I fucking stutter?

"Will they ever wake?" Lucy cut in, looking friendlier towards the woman.

"When all is put right," she explained kindly. "Come, there is little time."

The crew began to eat under Drinian's watchful eyes as the four of us followed Liliandil. She seemed to glide across the forest floor. Edmund's arm was around me as we walked, holding me tightly. He kissed my head reassuringly. "Relax, I wasn't lying when I said I love you."

"Good, I love you too," I said, smiling. "Plus, I was about to plan a one-woman mutiny against your or something."

He looked at me in amusement. "That would have been fun to see."

I nodded in agreement. "Yes, I'm sure me withholding any kind of physical affection would have been entertaining for me too."

With the stunned look I received, I was certain his attraction for the star was over.

Between Edmund and Eustace, I really was having a good day.

**AN: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review and what not, feedback is helpful and just plain fun to read. New chapter hopefully tomorrow or the day after—we'll see. **


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Readers! Sorry I took longer than usual to update. I love the feedback I got. It's encouraging and very helpful at times. **

**To the Guest reviewer: I haven't read the Mediator series but I've read other books by that author and they were great, so I'll definitely check it out!**

**Chapter 23.**

Liliandil led Edmund, Caspian, Lucy, and I for a long time until we finally approached the edge of the island on a cliff that was overlooking the ocean. The sun was beginning to rise.

"The magician Coriakin told you of Dark Island?" Liliandil questioned, walking a few feet ahead of Edmund and I.

"Yes," Caspian said in answer to her question. Naturally, he was glued to her side. Seeing Caspian all weak-kneed over a girl was kind of cute, as well as annoying considering his choice. After all, she _glowed_. Personally, I found that to be slightly creepy. Though at least we didn't need the flashlight anymore, she was bright enough to light our way. I wondered if it would be considered "inappropriate" if I started to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

Probably. Caspian was weird about those things, especially when he didn't even understand the joke.

Speaking of, he was the only one talking to her. Lucy and Edmund were being quiet, while I was trying not to say anything offensive.

My jaw dropped when we reached the edge of the cliff, for in the distance on the water was what I assumed to be the source of the green mist. It was glowing and green covered by a thick layer of black smog.

"Before long, the evil will be unstoppable," Liliandil said solemnly. Aside from the swirling mass of evil, the view was breathtaking as dawn was approaching.

"Coriakin said to break its spell we must lay the seven swords at Aslan's table," Caspian said.

"He speaks the truth," she said simply.

"Okay, so where is the seventh one?" I asked impatiently, seeing that she wasn't going to give any more information without being pressed for it.

She raised up an arm, pointing towards the disturbing mass of darkness.

"In there," she answered. "You will need great courage."

I looked to Lucy who grimaced. Courage wasn't something any of us were short of. Sanity, on the other hand . . .

Liliandil looked away from the view to face Caspian. "Now, waste no time."

"I hope we meet again," he said softly, his mouth parted slightly.

Her face softened and she smiled shyly. "Good-bye."

He smiled back, gazing at her ruefully.

Suddenly, she began to glow even brighter than before as she shifted back into her star self and shot up back into the sky.

I blinked rapidly for a moment. Forget staring straight into the sun, don't stare into a star. I really hope I don't see her ever again or I'd go blind.

The four of us stood there in thoughtful silence for a moment, staring up at the sky to where Liliandil disappeared.

"We better head back," Lucy spoke up. "The crew is probably wondering where we are."

Caspian reluctantly nodded, tearing his eyes away from the sky.

I sighed. "I suppose it would have been too much to ask her to just float in there and grab the sword for us, wouldn't it?"

"She's far too delicate to fight such evil," Caspian said, as he walked away.

I looked at Lucy, my eyes narrowed. "I feel slightly insulted, how about you?"

She shrugged with a roll of her eyes and followed him.

I turned to Edmund and said, "Well he moved on from your sister after a few years and got a long distance relationship with a rock instead. We should start a bet with the crew to see how well THAT goes. I say it'll last six years this time. What say you?"

He smiled halfheartedly and I felt all trace of humor wipe from my mind.

"It's going to be okay," I said quietly, not sure if I was trying to reassure him or me.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his chest. He put his arms around me and for a long time we just held each other, both of us fearing the same things. Would we make it out of this? And if we did, what was in store for our future? Would we be together, or doomed to never see each other ever again?

I lifted my head up and kissed him gently, but it wasn't enough. He kissed me back so hard I would have fallen backwards if his arm hadn't been around me. My hands went up to his head and I locked my fingers in his hair. The thought that this could be our last intimate moment together made my heart ache to the point where I wanted to just rip it out to get it over with.

Finally, I tore my lips away from his. I smiled when he groaned in annoyance.

"We should go," I said apologetically.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We'll have time later."

I bit my lip. "Glad you're so confident."

"Have faith," he whispered, laying his forehead against mine.

Despite myself, I smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said before kissing me one more time.

He pulled away and took my hand, looking considerably more cheerful. "Let's go."

I grinned. "Do you suppose it had been a good idea to let Eustace be babysat by Reep?"

"Not particularly but when have we done something that's worked out according to plan?"

I laughed. "Good point."

Somehow, we managed to catch up with the others without getting lost, though we had to run.

To my surprise, there was still a ton of food left at the table. Maybe it refilled itself or something, because by the looks of the crew they were extremely full, which was a relief to see after the hunger we all had endured. The four of us quickly ate so we could get going. Once I'd eaten my fill, I wrapped a loaf of bread that hadn't even been touch in a large, fancy napkin with a couple apples, and a few bread slices and an apple in another napkin.

"We packed some food for later, you know," Ed told me as we began to walk back to the ship.

"I know. This is for Eustace and Reepicheep."

"That's nice of you," Lucy said with a smile.

I shrugged. "I'm sure they're hungry too."

Sure enough, when we got to them they both gratefully gobbled up the food. Of course with Eustace being a dragon swallowed the loaf of bread and both apples in one bite while it took tiny Reep awhile to get through his share.

"Just because you piss me off doesn't mean I want you to starve," I told Eustace who was looking at me gratefully. "Anymore, at least. Maybe a week ago I would have."

Reep chuckled. "Now, now, Rose."

"I'm just kidding," I said, patting Eustace's arm. "Deep, deep down I think he has some good in him."

If it were possible, I'm certain the dragon would have blushed.

Drinian and Caspian talked and decided to let everyone sleep for a couple hours before going off to face the unknown evil. I was glad, we've barely slept and the crew definitely needed a good nap after their nice little feast.

We all went back on the ship to sleep, except for Eustace and, of course, loyal Reep.

I followed Lucy and Gael back to our room and we got in bed, ready to sleep.

Of course, Lucy nor I could sleep knowing what was coming. We were both too jittery. So while Gael slept peacefully, Lucy and I laid side by side, talking quietly.

"What do you think we're up against?" she asked me, snuggling into her pillow more.

"I don't know," I said. "But whatever it is, it's not going to be as easy as those damn nightmares."

She cringed. "Those were awful."

I nodded. "Yes, but we got through them."

"I suppose we did," she admitted.

"No worries, Lucy. You've got a whole crew to stand up and protect you, as well as a big brother and Pretty Boy." I put a hand over hers. "And you've got me too. I'm not going to let a single creature or evil presence touch a single hair on your pretty little head."

She smiled. "Thanks, Rose."

"Anytime. Just remember our deal."

She giggled. "To slap you if you go crazy?"

"Exactly."

"I will," she promised.

"Good," I said in satisfaction. "Now go to sleep, Queen Lucy."

"Alright, alright," she said grinning before shutting her eyes.

The two of us managed to drift off to sleep. Whether she had a nightmare, I don't know.

But I certainly did.

_I was surrounded in nothing but darkness. I couldn't even see myself it was so dark._

_"Poor little Rose," a voice cooed in my ear."Forever doomed to be alone."_

_"I'm not alone," I said desperately. Not being able to see anything was making me want to curl up in a ball and sob. I felt so lost and scared. _

_"Look around you," the voice said softly as tears began to pour down my face. "Even escaping from your own world you're still alone in your time of need. You can't run from your fate."_

I harshly crashed back to reality as I felt someone shake me.

"Rose, wake up. We're going now."

My eyes flew open and I saw Edmund standing over me. "Edmund," I said in relief, throwing my arms around him. Lucy and Gael were already gone.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern, pulling back to look at me.

"Nightmare," I whispered, struggling to fight the tears that I felt building up.

He gritted his teeth and shook his head, closing his eyes briefly.

When he opened them, he cupped my face in his hands. "This is going to end. I swear."

"Yeah," I said softly. "I hope so."

Or maybe my dream was right. I loved Edmund and Lucy so much. I loved Caspian, Gael, Drinian, Reep, and, well, everyone on this boat. I was even starting to grow slightly, somewhat, kind of fond of Eustace.

What if once this was over, they all left me. What was the point of being in Narnia if I was going to be alone, just like back at home.

Well, if it was true I better end my short legacy with a bang.

I pulled away from Edmund and climbed out of bed, smiling brightly.

"Well let's go get this crazy son of a mist, shall we?"


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Reviews make the world sing, readers! Just saying ;) **

**Chapter 24.**

Heading straight towards the demonic looking green mist of evil was nerve wrecking. What was going to happen when we went in it? Would we vanish? Would it be like poisonous gas and kill us? I stood next to Edmund by the wheel of the ship along with Lucy, Caspian, Tavros, Drinian, and other crew members. I glanced up at the sky nervously. It looked like it was going to storm or something, and Eustace was up there flying around with Reep.

Not that I was, _psh_, worried or anything. _  
_

"So what do you think is in there?" Tavros asked.

"Our worst nightmares," Edmund replied calmly.

"Our darkest wishes," Caspian added grimly.

"Pure evil," Drinian spoke up from the wheel.

"Thanks, Doom, Gloom, and Pouty," I said sarcastically. "Maybe next time we can go tell some kids that they're all gonna die someday."

"We're stating facts, Miss Rose," Drinian said gruffly as he left the wheel. "If you can't face 'em, then why are you here?"

I held my hands up in surrender. "Just trying to ease the tension, bro."

"Archers, prepare yourselves!" Drinian called. Shouts of "Aye, Captain!" went through the ship.

"Light the lanterns!" Tavros roared as he went down the stairs to the lower deck.

"Let's get ready," Caspian said quietly. Him and Edmund left while I followed Lucy to our cabin.

We were both nervously getting ourselves together as Gael sat on the bed, watching us.

"When I grow up, I want to be just like you two."

Lucy and I both froze in surprise. The temptation to laugh nearly burst out of me. No way should that sweet, innocent angel become anything like me.

Smiling, Lucy went to her and put an arm around her. "When you grow up, you should be just like you."

"Yeah," I agreed, sitting down on the other side of her. "Imagine the good you can bring to this world just by being you."

Gael glowed, looking brighter than even that damn star woman who nearly blinded me.

The three of us stood us up.

"Well," I said, forcefully cheerful. "Let's get this show on the road."

Lucy nodded, looking solemn. Before I could help myself, I threw my arms around both girls.

"Whatever happens," I said, trying to swallow the lump in my throat, "you two are the most incredible girls I've ever had the privilege of meeting."

They hugged me back fiercely for a long time before we finally pulled apart.

Lucy took a deep breath. "Let's go."

We exited the cabin in time to see that we were at the entrance of the mist. It looked even more terrifying up close.

Caspian stood at the very front of the boat on the steps as the crew was spread out, watching him with their undivided attention.

I found Edmund, who wore a steel plated suit for protection. I suddenly felt exposed. All of the men wore armor.

I crept up next to him and he immediately pulled me into an embrace, probably bruising me from the cold, hard steel. But I didn't care.

"That's a nice new sword," I said, tapping the side of its sheath.

"It's my brother's," he replied softly. "Both of them."

Before I could reply, Caspian spoke, addressing us all. "No matter what happens here, every soul who stands before me had earned their place on the crew of the Dawn Treader."

I couldn't help but be awed by the regal tone in his voice. For once I didn't have anything snarky to say, or even think.

"Together we have gone far," he continued. "Together we have faced adversity. Together we can do it again."

Of course we could, our mental sanity was so far gone I didn't think anything could break us anymore.

I really hope the mist doesn't take that as a challenge.

"So now is not the time to fall to fear's temptations. Be strong. Never give in."

I glanced up at Edmund who was looking at Caspian with a fierce pride, the way I was feeling about everybody here.

"Our world-our Narnian lives-depend on it. Think of the lost souls we're here to save." I looked over at Gael who was hugging Lucy and I felt my determination rise.

"Think of Aslan. For Narnia." With that, his epic speech ended.

"For Narnia!" A crewman shouted, leading everyone else to join in, including me.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the complete and total shock on Caspian's face. He looked at Edmund and I as if to say, "I did good?!"

I gave him a thumbs up to assure him and he looked pleased. I wound my arms around Edmund completely and clung to him, my heart pounding.

"This is it," I said grimly as we got closer and closer. The front of the boat, where Caspian had just stood was now cloaked in the darkness. Sure the speech sounded good, but this was different. We were entering what looked like the entrance to Hell.

"I can't do this, Edmund," I whispered as shadows covered us. The fog was so thick I could hardly see.

He pulled away and gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Don't you dare! You're stronger than it is, don't succumb to it."

I nodded, shutting my eyes briefly. We'd been through so much together, there's no way we couldn't get through this.

No longer was I Rose from America. I was Rose from Narnia. I could do anything, this world was my home and I couldn't back down now. 0

"You're right," I said finally. "Let's go fuck this place up."

He nodded in satisfaction. "That's the Rose I love."

I took his hand and together we stood, watching as we entered the monster. The lights on the front of the boat were lit, but I could barely see anything but black smog.

Then the voices began. Eerie voices were whispering and murmuring. My heart nearly dropped as green mist began slowly weaving it's way around the ship, like snakes.

_"Rose," _a voice whispered. It was the same one I had heard that night Edmund saw the Witch. _"Are you ready to give up this fantasy?"_

Was it her? I whipped my head around to look. Sitting on the railing of the ship was . . . me?

"Wha-what the hell?!" I stared, dumbfounded.

"Rose, what is it?" Edmund asked me, shaking me slightly. But I couldn't look away. It was too weird, seeing myself like a mirror image.

"I-I," I couldn't even answer.

_"Don't you get it?" _Other Rose asked_. "We might as well just go home. There's nothing left for you anywhere, anymore. Once Edmund leaves, you'll be all alone again."_

I was vaguely aware of Edmund shaking me, but I brushed him off.

My imposter smiled impishly. _"At least at home we're nice and safe, no one can ever hurt us there. In Narnia, you never know what's going to happen."_

"But I love it here," I insisted. "This is my home."

_"You think it's your home," _Other Rose corrected gently. "_But eventually they'll tire of you."_

"Go away," I heard Edmund say harshly next to me. "You're dead."

The dream of the White Witch flashed through my mind, as did everything we talked about. Was he seeing her now?

I turned my attention back to my other self. Enough was enough. "This whole time you've been trying to drive a wedge between me and the people I love. Do you know why?"

Other Rose looked startled, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll tell you why!" I yelled. "Because I am terrified of being alone and going back to how I used to live. You want me to go back home and live in a shell again. Well, guess what? That's never going to happen. I love all of these people and I would die for them so you can SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!"

Did I just call myself . . .? Ugh, nevermind.

Other Rose stared at me, wide-eyed. I really am adorable looking when I'm scared.

"You're never going to ruin my life again!" I pulled out my sword at the same time I heard Edmund yell, "No!"

Just like that, Other Rose disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Damn, I'm a coward.

Suddenly, a sharp sting went across my face.

I let out a hiss of pain. "Holy shit!" I looked to see Lucy, staring at me.

"You said to slap you if you went crazy," she said with a shrug.

"I had already snapped out of it and was taking a nice, slow detour back to reality!" Scowling, I rubbed my throbbing cheek. The little lady had quite the hand.

I turned to Edmund who looked as dazed as I felt.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Ed and I stared at each other, both of us trying to make sense of what we'd just seen. I threw my arms around him and kissed him, for the first time feeling like nothing was holding me back. He kissed me the same way.

Our attentions were jerked away when a loud moaning sound came from somewhere in the distance. We all stared, listening intently.

I could faintly hear someone yelling, "Keep away!"

I blinked. "Either there's someone out there or the monster is trying to protect us from itself."

The voice, which was a man's voice, called out again, "Keep away!"

"Who's there?" Edmund demanded.

"We do not fear you!" Caspian added.

"You showed him," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I bet he's shaking now, Caspian."

"Nor I you!" the man yelled in response.

"What'd I tell you, bro?" I said with a snicker.

Edmund left my side and I saw him retrieve the flashlight. He turned it on and shone it out towards a giant rock, where the voice was coming from. It was a man wearing nothing but a ragged brown sack. He was old, and his hair was long and grey. His back was pressed up against the rock and he was soaked. He was gripping a sword tightly.

"We will not leave," Caspian told him.

"You will not defeat me!" Determined little guy, isn't he?

"Caspian," Edmund called eagerly. "Caspian, his sword!"

I looked closer. "He's old with grey hair so, of course, he's got to be one of the lords."

"Lord Rhoop!" Caspian said, running to the side of the boat. The lord tried to get further away from us, Edmund kept his flashlight on him the whole time.

"You do not own me!" he shouted.

"Stand down!" Caspain said to the crew, who were all pointing their weapons at the poor old man. "Let's get him on board, quickly."

The men all began to prepare to do so, when suddenly Eustace shot out of nowhere and grabbed the lord.

"He's going to kill him from shock!" I shrieked as the man screamed. Eustace flew over the boat and held him over the crew, who all reached out immediately and helped him down. Huh, the kid was actually being really helpful today. I think I like him better as a dragon.

"Be calm, my lord!" Caspian tried to comfort him. The man wouldn't even look at him.

"Off me, demon!" he roared, his voice nearly going hoarse from the effort.

My eyes widened. "Weeeeeird. I say the same thing when he tries to make me get out of bed in the morning!"

"No, my lord!" Caspian said, after shooting me a major death glare. "We are not here to hurt you. I am your king, Caspian."

The man stared at us, an insane look in his eyes.

"Caspian?" Lord Rhoop whispered, shaking like a leaf. He slowly turned around to face Caspian and gasped, reaching to touch his face. "My lord!"

"And that's what I say whenever he feeds me," I said solemnly, earning myself another look.

"You should not have come!" he said desperately. "There's no way out of here. Quickly, turn this ship about before it's too late!"

I gripped Edmund's arm, slightly frightened. There was no lord in front of us anymore. He was a broken man who had seen horrors beyond belief.

"We have the sword," Edmund insisted. "Let's go."

Caspian nodded. "Let's turn her about, Drinian." I nearly wept with relief. We hadn't even been in here long and I was already losing my mind.

"Aye, aye, your Majesty."

Lord Rhoop ran after Caspian, his arm outstretched. "Do not think! Do not let it know your fears, or it will become them!"

No problem. I'll just focus on staring at Edmund, who I loved, not feared. I thought about him, only him.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he let out a sharp gasp. "Oh, no."

I thought about killing him.

I narrowed my eyes. "What's "oh, no"?" I hissed.

"Edmund, what did you just think of?" Lucy asked fearfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he said desperately. He ran to the side of the ship and looked down into the water.

I exchanged a horrified look with Lucy. This was _not _going to end well. I ran next to him and looked.

"No, it's okay," I whispered. "All I see are some giant rocks-WHY ARE THEY MOVING?!"

The ship jerked and I felt myself soar through the air to the other side of the ship. I was sure I'd crash into the pile of people, but somehow Edmund caught me before I fell to the ground. Did he not fall or had he already jumped to his feet? Oh well, either way without him that would have really hurt.

"Thanks," I said shakily as he let go of me. He ran over to his sister and pulled her to her feet.

"Look!" Caspian called. "What is that?"

"It's too late. IT'S TOO LATE!"

Well . . . Lord Rhoop had officially cracked.

This was really, really, REALLY not going to end well.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: One more chapter after this one everyone! R&R!**

**Chapter 25.**

My mind was still trying to wrap itself around what was going on. One minute, we were rushing to get out of this Hell hole to place the final sword at Aslan's table, then the next the world was in chaos. A giant, green creature was lurking under the water as a terrible storm raged on.

Thank you dear Edmund for having such a terrifying mind.

"It's gone under the boat!" a crew member shouted.

"GAEL!" I heard Lucy scream at the top of her lungs. I whipped around and saw a very frightened Gael pressed against the side of the boat on deck.

Something green and serpent-like shot out of the water, right by where Gael was, causing her to scream. It looked like a giant snake with an evil looking face. It stared at us with its demonic looking eyes. I was pretty sure I'd seen more attractive slugs.

At the same time, Lucy and I ran forward and we both grabbed Gael and began pulling her back to the other side of the boat.

I could barely see where I was going. The wind was wildly whipping my soaking wet hair around and the rain was clouding my vision. I blinked rapidly, just in time to see Edmund dash forward and push the three of us back, pointing his sword at the beast.

Then, out of nowhere, Eustace shot out of the sky like a meteor and began attacking the serpent with a fiery ball of flames. I couldn't believe it. Seriously, what happened to that coward of a boy?! Oh yeah, he turned into a dragon and became a bad ass!

The serpent didn't appreciate Eustace's efforts as much as we did, unfortunately. It went crazy, shrieking and throwing itself against the boat and jerking around. Eustace clung to the serpent though. I could barely make out Reep yelling something, shortly followed by another shriek of pain from the monster. I seriously hope he stabbed him with his midget sword.

Reep jump onto boat nets, meanwhile, Eustace was still holding on as it whipped around, trying to throw him off.

"Eustace, no!" I screamed as the creature threw him against a huge rock. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't get up again. But he slowly lifted his head up and shot a mouthful of boiling hot fire at the serpent. I could hear its scaly flesh sizzling. We all watched in horror, mixed with a little awe as the creature slowly sank.

"Out, creature!" I was roughly shoved aside as Lord Rhoop came running forward. Before I could even so much as blink, he launched the seventh sword at Eustace, which went into him.

"Eustace!" Lucy cried. I could only grip the rail, staring in complete disbelief as Eustace roared in pain, then took off into the air, along with the sword.

"No, come back!" Lucy called.

"We're doomed!" Lord Rhoop wailed. "Doomed!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screeched, very nearly pulling my sword out on HIM.

He ignored me and ran for the wheel. "Someone turn this ship about!"

"Stop him!"

"Someone stop him!"

It was too late. Lord Nutcase the Seventh had gotten hold of the wheel and tried to turn us around. Everyone gripped the rail to keep from flying. I lifted my head up just in time to see Drinian deliver a well-deserved punch in the lord's face. I burst out laughing while Lucy grimaced sympathetically.

"I always liked him," I crowed.

"Now, crew!" Drinian called, sounding steady and powerful, even over the harsh sounds of the waves and thunder. "To your rowing positions! Oars at double speed!"

"Aslan," Lucy said softly. Edmund and I both looked at her. "Please help us."

Then, from the dark clouds in a single ray of light, a seagull came down, cawing.

Lucy stared at it hopefully as I cocked my head and stared at it weirdly.

"I'm guessing seagulls are something significant to you guys?" I asked awkwardly.

I looked to Edmund who shrugged. I looked back to the water and felt my heart drop.

"Looks like it isn't done playing with us," I said as it came charging back towards us.

I felt Edmund grab my arm and begin yanking me away as it came slithering at top speed over our ship, practically breaking it in the process. We ran, nearly sliding on the water on the deck. Yells were coming in all directions and I heard Lucy call for Gael. The serpent wrapped itself around the ship as if it were a boa constrictor that wanted to squeeze the life out of its prey, which, let's face it, was probably its intentions.

"Don't let go of me, Rose!" Ed yelled over the sound of the monster roaring.

I gripped his arm with both hands. "I won't! Even though this is sounding just like Titanic, I actually won't let go!"

"Ed! Ed!" We looked to see Caspian at the wheel. "We ram the serpent-smash him on the rocks!"

Ideas and a speech all in one day. Pretty Boy was making me feel like a proud parent today, no lie.

"Steer her to port!" Ed called. "We'll keep it on the prow!"

"What does that mean exactly-" I was cut off when he took off running, dragging me with him.

Not until he actually started climbing up into the ship's very own serpent's mouth did I catch up on what was going on.

"Hurry!" he called down to me.

"It's a little slippery!" I yelled back, rolling my eyes.

He got inside the mouth and grabbed my hand, pulling me safely in with him before getting out that flashlight of his. We both pulled out our swords, ready.

He turned the flashlight on and shone it at the serpent, distracting it. It turned and looked at us.

"Try and kill us!" Ed yelled. "Come on, we're here!"

My eyes widened. "Uhh or we could have a nice heart to heart and a cup of tea!"

It reared its head back and shot forward. Edmund and I grabbed each other and threw ourselves back as far as we could. It bit into the wooden serpent mouth, but thankfully not into us.

We had nothing to support us other than ourselves. We were sliding down, every bit of protection gone.

"Come on!" he shouted. We both began climbing on top of the serpent's head, giving me tons of splinters from the sharp wood prodding out.

"Rose, go climb down!" he said as we backed up as far as possible.

"No way!" I insisted. "I'm staying with you!"

Everything happened in a blur. I felt his hand wrench my sword out of my hand before he shoved me and I was falling. It felt as if the world was going in slow motion as I watched him yell at the serpent. I curled up into a ball, hoping that it'd break my fall. I felt myself roll down the side and smack into the monsters harsh body before landing roughly on the deck, probably bruising every bone in my body. But I was alive.

Feeling numb to any sort of pain, I jumped to my feet and I just stared up at the idiot boy who thought he was doing me a favor. If he lived, I was going to kill him.

I watched as an arrow zoomed by overhead and plant itself into the serpent, distracting it long enough to let itself be crashed into the rock, as well as the front of the ship.

"Edmund!" I screamed as he jumped, falling in similar fashion to me. He bounced off the serpent's body and rolled across the deck, right by me. I rushed to his side. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing. If I had to use my body as a shield for him, so be it.

I touched his cheek with my fingertips and his eyes flew open. I sighed in relief. There really was nothing that could keep this king down.

"I lost your sword," he said, apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"I don't care," I assured him, kissing every part of his face I possibly could.

Our reunion was short. Caspian ran to us and pulled us to our feet. The impact from the crash had sent the Dawn Treader floating backwards. The serpent sounded _pissed_. It looked like it was dying, it was splitting down the middle.

Never mind, it was still alive.

"Die already, damn it!" I shouted as its insides wiggled around.

"Move!" Caspian hit us like a ton of bricks, shoving us to the ground as the serpent lunged itself where we had just been standing. I barely recovered from the fall when he was using a sword to slice at the serpent. I stared at the piece he cut off. It was dissolving into _nothing._

"We can beat this," Caspian said, looking slightly, well, crazy. I didn't blame him, I was feeling it myself. No wonder Lord Rhoop had gone psycho.

"We have to get it closer," Edmund said before running off.

"No, wait!" I pleaded, my voice lost in the storm.

"All hands on deck!" I heard Drinian yell.

"Man the harpoons!" Caspian shouted. He grabbed me as I tried to run after Edmund.

"Let him go, Rose!"

I watched, terrified, as Edmund jumped off of the ship, grabbing a rope and swung on the climbing net.

"Go to Lucy!" he yelled in my ear before releasing me with a hard shove. I didn't fight him for once in my life, though I desperately wanted to. I ran up the stairs to the upper deck where Lucy was. Immediately, I wrapped my arms around her in a fierce hug.

"That was some awesome arrow work back there!" I told her in awe. "You put Robin Hood to shame!"

She pulled back and grinned. "You should have seen my sister with a bow."

We looked over just in time to see over a dozen harpoons shoot out and land into the creature.

"This better work," I muttered. I grasped Lucy's hand and we watched as the monster began to weaken. The men were pulling it down with their harpoons.

"Where did Edmund go?" Lucy asked me. Cringing, I pointed up at the crows nest, where Edmund was climbing towards. It seemed like months ago when Edmund and I had snuggled up there and he told me about the White Witch, when he confided in me. I felt my resolve begin to shake as he climbed higher and higher. I had already almost lost him so many times, I couldn't handle it if I really did. I didn't think Narnia could handle it either.

"Please protect him, Aslan," I whispered as he made it onto the crows nest. The men pulled the creature so hard it nearly knocked into it. I shrieked, watching Edmund fall back briefly. He stood up straight-and suddenly froze, staring at nothing.

"What is he doing?!" Lucy cried.

"The mist," I hissed. "It's trying to stop him."

Suddenly, the creature wrenched a piece of the ship off as it thrashed around, trying to escape the harpoons.

We had come way too far to let the Witch Bitch stop us now.

I ran forward, and jumped up onto the railing overlooking the deck. I cupped my hands around my mouth and screamed as loud as I possibly could, most likely damaging my throat. "EDMUND, DON'T LISTEN TO HER!"

I saw his head whip to look at me. He was so far up I couldn't read his expression for the life of me.

Then, his sword began to glow a bright blue. I'm going to assume that's a good thing.

"DO IT!" I heard Caspian shout. Edmund turned around and faced the monster again. "Come on!" he yelled, egging it on. Beaming, I climbed off the railing and went back to Lucy who looked as proud of her brother as I was.

I would give anything to see the Witch's face, mist monster or not.

The serpent lunged, mouth open at Edmund and he was gone. No, no, no, he couldn't have been eaten. The serpent screamed a horrible, ugly wail before yanking back. Edmund was still standing there, his sword positioned. He did it.

Blue electrical sparks shot from the serpent with a crackling noise as it crashed back into the water, sinking into the ocean. Beams of light broke through the dark clouds. I could see the blue sky peeking through.

"The spell," Lucy said, a smile creeping on her face. "It's lifting!"

We watched in amazement as the black clouds and smog swirled around, slowly but surely disappearing.

"Edmund!" Lucy called. I looked and saw him climbing down, unharmed. "Caspian!" He was lying on a pile of debris, looking shaky but also unharmed.

"Look!" she said beaming. At this point, the black fog was almost completely gone. I ran to the bottom of the crows nest.

"Hurry up!" I called up, teasingly. He looked down at me and grinned before continuing his climb down.

When he reached the bottom, we just stared at each other. We were both drenching wet. I couldn't even imagine how I looked. He, however, never looked more regal.

Finally, I spoke. "Edmund Pevensie, you're going to kill me one of these days, I swear."

I threw myself into his arms and we held onto each other like there was no one else around in the world. He lifted me off the ground and swung me around in a circle, making me giggle. I wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to him.

"I love you," he murmured in my ear.

"I love you too," I whispered. "Please don't ever leave me."

He stroked my hair softly. "I'm not leaving you, Rosie. I promise."

I pulled my head back and kissed him so hard he had to back up and lean against the pole. We stayed like that for awhile, kissing fiercely while ignoring the wolf whistles and teasing from the crew.

Hopefully Rhince was covering Gael's eye. I'd corrupted that child enough for a lifetime.


	26. Chapter 26: The End

**AN: Well readers, this is my last chapter. *sniffles* Enjoy!**

**Chapter 26.**

Edmund and I would have probably kissed for the remainder of our lives if we hadn't been interrupted by the beautiful reunion between Rhince, Gael, and Helaine, Gael's mother. After catching sight of her, along with the other people in dozens of boats, the two of them jumped into the water and swam to her.

Edmund, Lucy, and I all had our arms around each other as we watched the family reunite. The three of us smiled at each other. I'd never felt so part of a family before this. I couldn't help but think that this was how it was supposed to be, all of us together.

Caspian called for the crew to help all of the people on board before making his way to the three of us. He playfully tugged a lock of my dark hair before patting Lucy on the shoulder.

"We did it," Lucy said beaming. "I knew we would."

"I never doubted us for a second," I said, grinning at the raised eyebrows. "Well . . . maybe once or twice."

"It wasn't just us though," Edmund pointed out. I nodded in agreement.

"You mean . . .?" Caspian began.

As if on cue, a familiar voice rang out.

"Hey! Hey I'm down here, Lucy!"

We all looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Over here! Hey, Lucy! I'm in the water! Lucy!"

"Is that who I think it is?" I asked as we ran to the other side of the boat. Sure enough, in the water waving his arms around frantically was Eustace. And, that's right folks, he was no longer a dragon.

"Eusatce!" Lucy and I exclaimed at the same time.

"I'm a boy again!" he said excitedly. "I'm a boy!"

"He's a real boy!" I announced joyfully. As expected, no one understood my Pinocchio reference.

Out of nowhere, Reep popped up. "Eustace! I see your wings have been clipped." Laughing at himself, he jumped into the water and began singing.

"_Where the sky and water meet,_

_Where the waves grow ever sweet-" _

He cut himself off as he took a lick of water off his hands. "It is sweet. It's sweet!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Is he still delirious from the mist?"

"Look!" Reep called. "Look!"

We all peered off into the distance. It looked as if the ocean was covered with something white, like snow.

"Aslan's country," Caspian said. "We must be close."

"Well," Edmund said. "We've come this far."

I felt my heart tighten. If we saw Aslan, would he send us back home? I took Edmund's hand tightly and he smiled at me encouragingly. I smiled back, but unlike before my heart wasn't in it.

"I'll get a rowboat ready," Caspian said, walking away.

"I'll get Eustace on board," Edmund offered, heading a different direction.

"Let's get into dry clothes," I told Lucy. "It would really suck if we saved the world and then caught a cold."

She giggled and we went to our cabin and changed into loose, comfortable clothes.

When she began pulling her hair back, I stopped her. "Leave your hair down." I took a brush and combed through it. It looked silky and gorgeous.

"You're absolutely stunning, little missy," I said smiling. "Remember that."

"I will," she said, smiling brightly. "Thanks, Rose."

Too soon, Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, Reep, and I were in a rowboat heading towards Aslan's Country.

"They're lilies," I murmured as we began to row through them.

"It's so beautiful," Lucy agreed, the two of us staring at the water.

We were all silent, enchanted by the thousands of lilies on the water.

Edmund spoke up, breaking the silent. "What was it like when Aslan changed you back?"

I looked at Eustace curiously. It was weird, ever since he'd changed into a dragon I almost enjoyed his company. Now hearing him talk didn't make me want to slap things. I'd told him he would change, I just didn't realize how much.

"No matter how hard I tried," Eustace said. "I just couldn't do it myself. Then he came towards me. It sort of hurt, but it was a good pain."

"Like sucking poison out of a wound?" I asked.

He nodded. "Exactly. Or like when you pull a thorn from your foot." he gave a sort of chuckle. "Being a dragon wasn't all bad. I mean, I think I was a better dragon than I was a boy, really." He glanced back at Lucy and I for a moment. "I'm so sorry for being such a sop."

"I told you I had faith in you," I said softly, reaching forward to pat his shoulder.

"It's okay Eustace," Edmund said, grinning. "You were a pretty good dragon."

"My friends," Reep said from the front of the boat, "we have arrived."

We all looked too see a small island shore and behind it, one big, breathtaking wave. But it never fell down or crashed. It just stayed suspended there.

We pulled up on the shore and climbed out of the rowboat.

I went to Edmund and took his hand. "Together?"

He let go of my hand and drew me in close. "Together."

We walked up to the wave, all of us together.

"Aslan," Eustace said. We all turned and I had to supress a shriek.

Looking more majestic than words could ever describe, Aslan the Lion walked towards us. I stared at him in awe.

"Welcome, children," he spoke in a deep, powerful voice. "You have down well. Very well indeed."

He walked around so that he was standing in front of us. "You have come far, and now your journey is at its end."

I was afraid he'd say that.

"Is this your country?" Lucy asked.

"No, my country lies beyond." he turned to face the wave.

"Is my father in your country?" Caspian asked him.

"You can only find that out for yourself, my son," Aslan told him gently. "But you should know that if you continue, there is no return."

Caspian stared at the wave, deep in thought before walking forward to the wave.

Our small group exchanged confused glances. Was he going to leave without saying goodbye?

Caspian touched the wave with his hand, for only a moment before turning around.

"You're not going?" Edmund asked.

"I can't imagine my father would be very proud that I gave up what he died for. I spent too long wanting what was taken from me and not what was given. I was given a kingdom. A people."

He walked back to Aslan. "I promise to be a better king."

"You already are," Aslan said.

I spoke up tentatively. "Sir?" I let go of Edmund's hand and stepped forward. "What about me? I mean, why did I come here?"

"You needed Narnia," Aslan said gently. "As much as Narnia needed you."

"Do I have to leave?" I asked.

"That is entirely up to you," he answered, to my surprise.

I didn't answer right away. I thought about my life back home and my life here.

Finally, I spoke. "For a long time, I felt alone. I was being torn down by my inner demons, letting life pass me by. Being here has made me feel alive, like I'd never been before." I looked around at everyone. "If I leave, I would never forgive myself for it."

I took a deep breath and turned back to Aslan. "I don't know where I'll go or what I'll do, but I'm staying here in Narnia."

Caspian came forward and put a hand on my shoulder. "There will always be room for you in my castle, Rose."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Could you really put up with me as a roommate?"

Caspian smiled back. "You're a good friend, Rose and you've more than proved your worth. I'd be honored."

"Hold on just a minute," Edmund said, coming forward and taking my hands. "If anyone is going to have to put up with you as a roommate, it's going to be me."

"Edmund?" I asked in disbelief, trying to ignore the strong feeling of hope that was surging up inside me. "What about your home? Your family?"

"They'll be just fine," he assured me. "I told you I was staying and I stand by it."

"So am I," Lucy said, coming forward to wrap her arms around me. "Narnia is my home."

I seriously thought I was going to cry.

Reep cleared his throat to make himself known and scampered forward to Aslan.

He bowed deeply, removing his feather. "Your Eminence, ever since I can remember I have dreamt of seeing your country. I've had many great adventures in this world, but nothing has dampened that yearning. I know I am hardly worthy, but with your permission I would lay down my sword for the joy of seeing your country with my own eyes."

"My country was made for noble hearts, such as yours, no matter how small that bearers be."

Reep bowed once again. "Your Majesty."

"No one could be more deserving," Caspain said.

"Well, I-"

"It's true," Edmund broke in, bowing to Reep who bowed back.

"Reep you have the most brave, wonderful heart of anyone," I told him, trying to keep from crying. I had grown so attached to the furry little guy.

Together, Lucy and I walked forward and knelt down in front of him.

"May we?" Lucy asked him, trying to smile through her tears.

"Well, I suppose. Just this once-"

We cut him off by throwing our arms around him, though being careful not to crush him. At first, he didn't seem to know what to do so he simply said, "Good-bye, Lucy. Good-bye, Rose."

I glanced back at Eustace and my heart broke. He looked so alone.

Lucy and I let go of Reep and walked back to Edmund, who put an arm around me. Eustace walked up to Reep and knelt down.

Wanting to give them privacy, especially when Eustace began to cry, I tugged on Edmund's shirt for his attention. "Are you sure you won't regret staying?"

All he responded with was, "I love you, Rose."

We looked to see Eustace backing up to us again and Reep running off to the wave. When he got close, he pulled out his sword and stuck it into the sand, saying, "I won't be needing this."

He began pushing what looked like a miniature rowboat towards the wave and jumped on it. Where the hell did that come from?!

With a little paddle, he rowed himself to the wave and instead of going through it, he rode up it, going over to the other side and disappearing.

I pulled away from Edmund and went to Eustace, who was trying to regain control of his tears.

"You've come a long way, Eustace," I said gently.

"So have you," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "You didn't call me 'kid'."

I grinned. "You'll always be my little 'kid', no matter where you are or what kind of good you suddenly start doing." Unable to help myself, I wrapped my arms around him, nearly killing him from the shock of the hug.

"Stay golden," I told him before releasing him from my death grip.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" he asked me, glancing down at his arm where the gold cuff had hurt him as a dragon.

"A little," I admitted, giggling.

His lips twitched and a funny little snort came out.

"I did it!" I cried joyfully. "I made you laugh!"

"You have your amusing moments," he admitted. "Don't let it go to your head though."

I winked. "I would never."

I walked back to Edmund and put my arms around him. He gazed back at me with so much love I thought I'd explode from the intensity.

"After all," I said softly. "I might be queen someday."

Aslan protect us all.

**THE END**

**AN: Thank you to all of my reviewers and followers! Writing this story has been so amazing for me. I hope I did the last chapter justice and I'm sorry it took so long. My computer has been terrible and it's been so hard to write with it. I've been asked about a sequel and as of right now I don't have any plans to make one. I won't say I'll never make one, because hey, who knows. It would probably be a one-shot or a two-shot though. I have a lot of other story ideas I want to do. So review, tell me I'm a great writer or a terrible one, etc. I love you all!**


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